


True Self

by DorkSeverus04



Series: Be true to yourself [1]
Category: RWBY
Genre: Author Is Sleep Deprived, Author is too stressed out, F/F, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Minor Assault, Minor Character Death, Modernish era, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Self-Esteem Issues, Slow Burn, The Author Regrets Everything, Werecat!Blake, You will hate Jaune this fic, someone kick me to add more tags later, werewolf!Weiss
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-14
Updated: 2020-08-05
Packaged: 2021-03-02 23:28:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 31,696
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24175111
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DorkSeverus04/pseuds/DorkSeverus04
Summary: Ruby Rose. The daughter of Summer Rose, ran from home and into a forest on a cloudy day when she was fifteen. Why, you may ask? She was tired of being compared to her mother. One day, she met a certain wolf and together, they learn how to become their true self.
Relationships: Blake Belladonna/Yang Xiao Long, Ruby Rose/Weiss Schnee
Series: Be true to yourself [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1786699
Comments: 37
Kudos: 228





	1. Prologue

_**Five years ago** _

Ruby Rose. A fifteen-year-old girl, and daughter to Summer Rose, ran from home and into a forest on a cloudy day. Why, you may ask? She was tired of being compared to her mother. Every time she went into town, all she heard was ‘I hope your daughter is able to protect us like you do.’ Or ‘Is your daughter up to this task? She looks a little… you know.’ 

Ruby covered her ears as she leaned back against her bed. She had found an abandoned cabin in the middle of the forest. Well, she assumed that it was abandoned, considering the amount of dust that was there. The brunette decided that this would be her new home. Or at least a safe house that she could come to once in a while whenever she needed space.

After cleaning up the cabin a bit and tinkering with her weapon to make sure that it was properly tuned up, she thought of going hunting and looked outside. It was still cloudy, but she didn’t have food. Quickly debating what to do in her mind, she thought of going hunting for an hour. If she couldn’t find anything, then she’d have to find some berries that’ll last her until she could find some real food.

An hour later, Ruby caught a few rabbits. She grinned to herself as she carried the carcasses back home and looked at the sky. Her eyes widened as she saw that it was already snowing. The brunette ran back in the direction of the cabin while pulling her jacket closer. She huffed as the snow started to accumulate more, giving her a hard time to run through it.

Grumbling to herself, Ruby slowed her pace so she wouldn’t tire herself out, and wondered how far away she had strayed from the cabin. She looked up at the sky, pondering when the snow would stop, and gasped when she tripped over a ditch and slipped into a small crevice in the floor.

Ruby shivered in the snow, thankful that it cushioned her fall. She wrapped her jacket tighter around herself to gather some warmth, but it wasn’t enough, seeing as she was practically covered in snow. “M-Mom…” She whimpered as she closed her eyes. “I’m sorry…” The brunette huffed, seeing her breath in front of her face. It amused her and she shook her head. Now she was being delusional.

She tried to move and get up but slipped on the snow, falling back and feeling a dull ache on her ankle. “Ugh… I can’t… So cold…” She heard the soft crunch of the snow and glanced up to see who was coming closer to her. “H-Help…”

The brunette’s eyes widened as she saw what approached her was a large, white, furry figure. She shivered and tried to shrink away but winced in pain.

The figure slowly approached her and Ruby saw that it was a werewolf. ‘ _ Oh god… it’s gonna eat me! _ ’

To Ruby’s surprise, she felt warmth as she was lifted into its arms. She glanced up and saw that the werewolf was nuzzling her head slightly, as if to give her some of its warmth.

Ruby unconsciously moved closer to the werewolf and closed her eyes. ‘ _ So it’s not going to eat me…? That’s reassuring. I don’t feel like I’m in danger either…’  _ She placed a hand onto it’s furry chest, softly clutching it as she drifted to sleep.  _ ‘I… feel really safe with this wolf for some reason. _ ’

* * *

_ I whimpered as I leaned against a tree. I was training on my own until I was attacked by a pack of Ursai and tripped down a slope. I heard a growl coming closer to me and readied my weapon, a small rifle that I made thanks to my mother’s help. When I heard a different growl coming closer to me, I instinctively aimed my weapon in that direction and a wolf jumped out in front of me. _

_ “W-What…?” I still held up my weapon, unsure if this wolf was protecting me or merely protecting its “prey” from the Ursa. The wolf growled at the Ursa, and I saw it take a step back, but it still growled loudly back at the wolf.  _

_ I grunted and shakily pointed my weapon at the Ursa, but the wolf was in my way. “Wolfie… please move… I don’t want to hurt you…” I mumbled.  _

_ I saw the wolf looking back at me before looking back at the Ursa, growling louder and… was that ice forming by its paws? I closed my eyes when they charged at each other, and next thing I knew, the wolf was nuzzling my head and licking my cheek. I saw the worried look it gave me with it’s crystal blue eyes and I smiled, scratching its head lightly. “Thank you for saving me…” I mumbled before closing my eyes.  _

* * *

Ruby groaned as she felt the gentle sunlight hitting her face and turned to curl more under the warm blankets. Wait, warm blankets? Wasn’t she under snow before? She slowly opened her eyes and saw a familiar desk and chair. The same one that she sat at and worked on her weapon just hours earlier. She slowly regained her senses and sat up on her bed, seeing that she was back in the cabin. The brunette quickly looked around, wondering what had happened. ‘ _ Was it a dream? _ ’ She thought to herself, shifting to get off the bed. She stopped when she noticed a red cloak wrapped around her.

“Wha…?” The brunette blinked as she touched the fabric. It wasn’t like any material she felt before. “Where did…?” She looked by her bedside table and saw a single white rose on it. Realization slowly seeped in. “S-So last night…” Ruby mumbled to herself as she remembered her furried savior. “Wasn’t a dream…” She quickly got off the bed and examined herself in a nearby mirror, spotting bandages neatly wrapped around her ankle. “They treated my wound?” Ruby let out a huff and searched the room again, finding that she was alone. “Jerk, how can I thank you if you leave me like this, again?”


	2. Reunion

Present time

A little girl screamed as she saw that she was surrounded by fire. She coughed as she curled into a ball. “M-Mommy…! Daddy…! H-Help…” She fell to her side, huddling into herself to stay away from the flames. “S-Someone…”

Suddenly, something busted through the fire and called out to her. “Garnet! Are you in here?!”

“I-I am…!” Garnet struggled to answer and coughed violently.

Hearing the cough, a red-cloaked figure rushed towards her and knelt down. “There you are!” The figure carefully lifted the child into her arms and made sure that the cloak covered her. “It’ll be alright! My name’s Ruby, and I’m here to save you!” Ruby grinned as she ran through the fire with ease.

“R-Ru…by…?” Garnet wheezed, clutching onto Ruby’s shirt.

“That’s right!” Ruby frowned, seeing the way she came in was blocked by debris, and looked around for another way out. She looked down at the child and held her closely as she found a window and jumped through it. The brunette made sure that she took the brunt of the impact and did a somersault as she landed, crouching down on the ground.

“Garnet!” A woman cried as she rushed over towards Ruby and her daughter.

Ruby smiled, making sure that she wasn’t injured before she let the child go to her mother.

“Oh, thank you! How could I ever repay you?” The mother thanked Ruby as she crushed her daughter with a worried hug.

“Don’t worry about it! Just doing my job!” Ruby grinned and took off her hood. “Keep an eye on your daughter now! Wouldn’t want her to be trapped in a burning building again.” She laughed weakly, trying to lighten the mood a bit.

The mother thanked Ruby again before looking closely at her. “Wait… Are you related to Summer Rose, by any chance?”

 _‘Oh no. Here we go again…’_ Ruby internally sighed as she forced a smile. “She’s my mother.”

“I knew it! That explains how you managed to save my daughter so easily! Summer sure has a wonderful daughter.” The mother giggled and smiled at Ruby. “I hope that you’ll work hard like her one day.”

 _‘And I hope that this stops…’_ Ruby still kept a forced smile. “I sure do as well. Now if you’ll excuse me, I should report in.” She gave a respectable bow and waved at Garnet before turning. Once she was out of sight from the town she was in, she clutched her shirt and took a deep breath. ‘I’m ok. I’m ok. I shouldn’t have taken off my hood, but whatever! It’ll be ok.’ She thought to herself as she stumbled back to her cabin. She opened the door and looked around for a moment before closing it behind her and stumbling towards her bed, flopping onto it.

 _‘I should be used to this by now… but why does it still hurt?’_ Ruby turned her head when her scroll beeped at her, and groaned as she looked at the new message. _‘Now what…?’_

Vomit Boy [3:19 PM] Hey Ruby! I heard that you finished your mission! Good job! Want to grab dinner together?

Ruby stared at the message and sighed. Vomit Boy, or Jaune, was a nice guy. He’s been a “good” friend for about a year now, ever since she got this detective job. For some reason, they thought a great welcoming party would be a speed eating contest, which caused him to have the permanent nickname of “Vomit Boy.” Plus, he really is super dense when it comes to women.

[3:21 PM] Thanks for the offer, but no thanks. I want some time to relax.

Vomit Boy [3:21 PM] So should I see you up in an hour to chat for a bit?

Ruby screamed into her pillow. Seriously! How can a guy be so dense?!

[3:22 PM] No Jaune. I don’t want to see anyone. Good night.

Vomit Boy [3:22 PM] Alright! I’ll see you tomorrow then! <3

Ruby merely threw her scroll onto the bedside table and sighed deeply. _‘If there’s someone that I want to meet, it’s not you.’_ She blushed as she sat up from the bed and looked towards the window sill where she had placed some white roses in a vase.

Five years have passed since Ruby first met her werewolf savior, and since then, once a month, she’d wake up to a white rose on her bedside table. Was she worried about the werewolf breaking into her cabin? At first she was, but seeing as the creature didn’t do anything to her or her cabin, besides leaving a white rose, she just grew curious.

Why did the werewolf just leave a white rose? Why did it seem like it was protecting her? Not only that, why did she have a feeling that she’d known the werewolf since before their supposed first meeting?

Just recently she noticed that the same wolf was watching over her, though for how long, she didn’t know. Whenever she was out hunting or on a job, the wolf watched over her, only jumping in when necessary. The brunette didn’t know what to think about it. She had so many questions, but had no chance in getting an answer.

Her scroll buzzed again and she groaned as she reached for it, looking at who it was from.

Mum [3:30 PM] Hey Ruby. I know that you’re alright and everything, but I just wanted to check up on you.

Mum [3:30 PM] Today’s mission wasn’t that hard right? With that cloak of yours, it should be a piece of cake!

Mum [3:31 PM] Just wanted to let you know that your dad’s making your favourite tonight if you’d like to come and visit.

Mum [3:31 PM] Hope to hear from you soon. Love you.

 _‘Mum…’_ Ruby sighed as she flopped onto the bed and looked up at the ceiling. It wasn’t that she had a horrible relationship with her mother. In fact, their relationship was great! It was the people around them that made it difficult for Ruby to enjoy being around her mother, as much as she loved her. _‘Maybe I should go home…’_ She sighed and rolled onto her side, thinking of what to do. _‘Oh right! I forgot I needed to report to Ozpin.’_

Ruby sat up and moved towards her desk, turning on her laptop and writing the report of what happened today. Ever since they found out that her cloak, the one she assumed was left behind by the werewolf, was fireproof, any missions that involved fire were given to her unless she declined them.

Her mind drifted back towards the white wolf and wondered again why they saved her. They didn’t know her, did they? She shook her head and thought back to the mission earlier. She can think about that werewolf again later as she’s always been every night.

Ruby sighed as she finished her report and sent it to Ozpin, leaning back against the chair for a moment, thinking of what to do next. Her stomach growled and she groaned. Right, food is a thing.

The brunette looked at her scroll again and sighed. Getting up and making sure that her cloak was wrapped around her, she left her cabin, locking it, and started walking back to her family’s house.

Three years have passed since she started living on her own on and off, and a year since she fully moved into her own home. The only one that really knew that she lived in the cabin in the forest was her Aunt Raven, who she begged not to tell anyone.

Luckily for her, Raven understood why and convinced Summer that she’ll check in on her once in a while, as long as she doesn’t get involved. Apparently, Summer had an idea why, and wanted to give Ruby her space and support her whenever and however she could.

Ruby was so lost in thought that she didn’t notice that she had made it back home already. She bit her lip as she knocked on the door.

“Yes?” Summer answered the door and smiled seeing her daughter. “Hello, Ruby. How have you been?”

“I’ve been great, mum.” Ruby smiled back and gave her a hug. After a moment, she pulled back and shuffled a bit outside the door. “Want to hear about the mission?”

“Of course! I’m always proud of what you do.” Summer urged Ruby to come in before anyone saw them and kissed her head. “Your father’s still cooking dinner. Why don’t we sit in the living room and catch up?”

Ruby nodded and walked towards the couch, sitting down and invited her mother to sit next to her. “Pretty sure that you know that it was a piece of cake for me and my cloak. Just had to save a little girl from a burning building.”

Summer’s eyes flashed with worry as she quickly looked over her daughter in case there were any injuries. Sighing in relief when she didn’t see any, she pulled Ruby into a hug. “I know that you’ll be alright, but I can’t help but worry about you.”

“Mum…” Ruby hugged her back and sighed. “I’m fine. Really. As long as I have this cloak, I’m practically invincible!” She laughed, trying to lighten the mood a bit.

“I still don’t understand how you found this cloak.” Summer looked it over, not wanting to touch it unless she had Ruby’s permission. “Fireproof and keeps you warm in the winter, yet cool in the summer? You nearly gave me a heart attack when we found that out.”

Ruby laughed nervously and scratched the back of her head. Memories of burning debris falling onto her came back, but thanks to the cloak, she was only bruised a bit from the debris itself and received no burns. She could vividly hear her mother’s thanks to Oum as they found out that she was unharmed. “I guess being found wrapped in this cloak after a building burnt down would do stuff like that, right?”

Summer was quiet and gave her daughter a hug again. “Ruby… Really, I’m proud of you.”

“Thanks mum.” Ruby hugged her back then looked up when Tai walked into the room. “Hey, dad. Is dinner ready?”

“Yeah. Didn’t really expect you to come home tonight.” He teased and ruffled her head. “Our little hero is just like her mum after all.”

Ruby internally flinched at that remark and Summer frowned at her husband. “Tai, go set up the table. Ruby and I will be there soon.” Tai blinked in confusion and shrugged, walking back towards the kitchen to grab the plates and food. “Honestly, you’d think that he’d notice by now…”

“It’s ok, mum.” Ruby gave her a small smile. “I’m used to it.”

“But you shouldn’t be.” Summer frowned and sighed. “I’m sorry for this, Ruby. If I had tried harder…”

Ruby shook her head and placed her hand on top of her mothers. “The results would’ve still been the same. I love you, mum. I wanted to take this job, not for you, but because it seemed fun helping people.”

“As long as you’re happy.” Summer kissed her forehead and stood up. “Now let’s get dinner. Are you staying the night?”

“If you don’t mind. I’ll leave early in the morning though. Wouldn’t want the neighbors to see me, after all.” Ruby adjusted her cloak and followed her mother towards the table. “Hey, dad. How are you?”

“Doin’ great, seeing that our little hero is home safely.” Tai ruffled Ruby’s head with a laugh. “What kind of stories are you gonna share today? I heard that you got another fire mission?”

“I guess you could say that I flame to please?” Ruby laughed weakly as she placed some mac n’ cheese onto her plate. Tai laughed loudly as Summer giggled at the joke. “But really, running into a burning building to save a couple kids? Hardly any trouble.”

“We’re still worried about you whenever you take those jobs, Ruby. Yang’s usually the one for those types of jobs. I don’t even think Summer would take that kind of job either.” Tai huffed as he took a big scoop of mac n cheese for himself.

Ruby’s eyes flashed a hint of sadness for a moment before she forced a grin. “As long as I have my cloak, I’m perfectly fine and able to take care of myself.” Now she was regretting saying that she’d stay the night to her mother. “If there’s anything that’s trouble, it’s my co-workers. Some idiot won’t take no for an answer.” She sighed as she picked at her food. “No offense dad, but most of the guys I’ve met so far have been assholes.”

Tai held a hand to his chest in mock hurt. “Ouch! I guess that means, no grandkids in the future?” He tried to lighten the mood but felt the air only grow heavier. “Bad joke. Sorry, but are you going to transfer? Actually, do you have a partner? Work partner, not boyfriend/girlfriend kind of partner.” A beat. “You… will tell us if you do have one… right?”

“Tai… Dear…” Summer groaned as she rubbed her head. Why did she fall for him again?

“I will, one day. Just not now. I wanna make sure that I can support myself before I can think of that… if I find anyone.” Ruby shrugged. She talked to her mother a few times about it before. No one was attractive to her in that way. She was amazed how Yang found her match so early. As much as she wanted to talk to her though, it’s been over five years since they last spoke. “Enough about me. What about you two?” The brunette looked between them. “What kind of missions have you been on?”

“Nothing too interesting.” Summer shrugged. “Pushing back some Ursai, going undercover… I think that’s still ongoing though.”

“Ongoing?” Ruby raised a brow, interested to know about that case.

“It’s about the White Fang. Apparently, there’s a new leader.” Tai munched on his mac n’ cheese and looked at Ruby. “Rumor has it that they’re creating drugs of some kind.”

Ruby hummed as she leaned back into her chair and picked at her food again. It wasn’t her case, but it wasn’t like she wasn’t interested in it. Maybe she could help them out with it? No… then people at work would say something about her working with Summer. With a sigh, the brunette finished her food and excused herself. “Sorry, mum. I think I’ll head home now. Thanks for dinner.”

“Alright. Stay safe going home.” Summer gave her a small smile as she got up and kissed Ruby’s head. “I’ll miss you.”

“Mum, it’s not that far.” Ruby laughed as she grabbed her dishes and walked towards the sink, washing her dishes and cleaning them before placing them away. “Thanks again for dinner! I’ll see you two next time.”

“Bye, Ruby.” Summer kissed her head again, wishing that she’d stay, but decided not to say anything.

“Don’t forget to call your sister!” Tai waved at her. “She misses talking to you, y’know?”

 _‘Yeah, sure. I don’t even know if I can talk to her right now.’_ Ruby nodded. “I’ll shoot her a message when I’m home.” With that, the brunette quickly left and sighed as she looked up at the sky, thinking about her family. Her relationship with her family was… interesting, to say the least.

The obvious one was with her mother. She knows that her mother cares for her, but with the people around them… It made it extremely difficult. Especially since her father sometimes adds onto it without realizing. Her sister, Yang, was transferred to a different station five years ago, just before she found the cabin. The last message that Yang sent her was that she was getting married to a werecat last year. Then there were her Aunt Raven and Uncle Qrow.

Raven helped her move, and she was glad that she understood why Ruby needed her space and everything. It was… oddly sweet of her to help her like that. In fact, she couldn’t remember the last time she was that sweet without being sarcastic or anything. Qrow helped her train so that she could defend herself and track animals in case she was hungry, and Grimm in case they got too close to her cabin. Though recently she didn’t have to worry too much about it, ever since meeting that wolf.

Speaking of the wolf, Ruby looked around. She felt a pair of eyes watching her, but she figured that it was probably the wolf, as it didn't feel hostile. The brunette wanted to ask it something anyways, and decided that she was tired of being alone. Maybe she could ask the wolf to stay with her, even if it was only on occasion. It would make her feel better that her nights wouldn't be so cold and lonely after all.

Ruby walked into the woods, a bit away from her cabin, to where she met the werewolf five years ago. Again, she tripped and grumbled as she stumbled forward. “Damn stumps and crevices around here.” She sighed and walked into a clearing, sitting down onto the floor and flopping onto her back to stare at the sky. _‘I wonder if the wolf is gonna come see me…’_

She closed her eyes, thinking of the wolf’s snow-white fur and its crystal blue eyes. How soft and warm the fur was to the touch. When she felt a presence near her, she quickly opened her eyes and jumped up, but calmed down seeing the same wolf jumping back in surprise.

“S-Sorry! I didn’t mean to scare you!” Ruby quickly apologized and offered a hand to the wolf. “C’mere. You’ve… been watching me for a long time. Haven’t you?”

The wolf’s ear twitched as it slowly padded its way over to Ruby, sniffing her hand and closing its eyes as Ruby gently rubbed its head.

“So soft…” Ruby smiled and moved a bit closer, rubbing its ears gently. “Thank you… for watching over me all this time.” She moved closer to kiss the wolf’s head but stopped when her scroll buzzed. “Ugh… what now?” She looked at the message and sighed.

Ozpin [8:23 PM] Ruby, I apologize for contacting you so late at night. Thank you for the report for today’s mission. I am contacting you now because I need you to go on an undercover mission on the White Fang.

 _‘Undercover mission on the White Fang? Wasn’t mum and dad working on that?’_ Ruby raised a brow as she continued to read the message.

Ozpin [8:23 PM] I know that I have your mother and father working on this as well, but I need all the help that I can get. Gather as much information as you can and please report back to me. Stay safe and have someone work with you this time, as it is dangerous. Good luck.

Ruby sighed, not really wanting to work with one of her co-workers. Her eyes lit up a bit as she thought of a better idea. She looked towards the wolf and gave her a small smile. “Hey, Moonlight. Can you come work with me?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I apologize for the interesting summary but uneventful story so far. Pretty sure that y'all know who "Moonlight" really is.
> 
> Hope that y'all enjoyed this chap. See y'all next time!


	3. First Case Together

"Hey, Moonlight. Can you come work with me?" Ruby smiled at the wolf, who just gave her a curious look. "D-Do you not like the name?" She was worried, but sighed in relief when the wolf licked her hand. "T-Thanks! I thought of Crystal at first 'cause of your eyes, but then I was remembering how you saved me before, and well…" She blushed a bit as she looked at the wolf. "You're like this soft light in the night, watching over me. You never appear unless I really need help, so… 'Moonlight' seemed like a good name for you."

The wolf licked Ruby's cheek, liking the name and nuzzling against the brunette.

"I'm glad that you like the name." She giggled and rubbed Moonlight's head again. "Oh right, I should message Ozpin about when he wants me to start this mission…" Ruby sighed as she pulled out her scroll and grunted a bit when Moonlight just plopped onto her lap. "Yes? What's wrong, Moonlight?" She laughed as the wolf nuzzled against her hand. "Do you want to come home with me for once?"

Moonlight just gave Ruby a look and huffed.

"I guess that's a no." Ruby frowned, saddened that the wolf couldn't go home with her, but respected its decision. She felt the wolf nipping at the cape and moving it around her a bit. She blinked at the motion, then realized what Moonlight was doing. "Oh! You're keeping me warm!" Ruby smiled and rubbed Moonlight's head. "It's alright, I'm fine. The cloak you gave me and you laying on me are keeping me more than warm enough. Thank you though."

The wolf nuzzled against Ruby's cheek and nudged at the scroll.

"Hmm? What? Oh right, I should ask Ozpin if I can take you with me." A beat. "You… You do want to come with me… right?"

Moonlight seemed to roll its eyes then licked Ruby's cheek before huffing.

"You're always making sure that I'm safe." Ruby smiled and laughed. "Thank you. You're like my guardian angel."

Ruby flopped onto her back as she finished accepting the job, so long as she could bring Moonlight with her. If not, she'll find a way to have Moonlight help her anyway. It wasn't that she didn't trust the others at work, she just felt more comfortable with the wolf than other people.

Her scroll buzzed and she smiled, seeing that Ozpin was allowing her to bring Moonlight. She sat back up, rubbing the wolf's head. "Looks like we can work together on this job." She smiled then thought about it. "I never told you what my job was, huh?"

Moonlight tilted her head curiously. Ruby giggled and didn't blame the wolf. Seemed like the only time that the wolf was really watching over her was when she was within the forest and not in the city. Was it a good idea to bring Moonlight into the city, then? As if it sensed Ruby's worries, Moonlight licked her cheek to snap her out of her thoughts.

"S-Sorry, I was thinking if you'd be alright coming with me. I mean I know that you said… er, licked my cheek in approval that you'd be alright coming with me, but I can't help but worry about you." Ruby wrapped her arms around Moonlight's neck, nuzzling her face into its fur. "You're always taking care of me… I want to take care of you."

Moonlight nuzzled back and licked Ruby's neck.

"Ack! Hey!" Ruby laughed and moved back. "I should go home and get some sleep. We have an early day tomorrow." She moved to get up and rubbed the wolf's fur. "…Can you really not stay the night? It's a little cold in that cabin alone."

Moonlight looked at Ruby then moved to nuzzle her side, staying near her as they walked back to the cabin. Ruby moved at a slow pace, wanting to stay with Moonlight for as long as she could, and sighed when her cabin was in sight.

"Guess this is good night…" Ruby sighed and rubbed Moonlight's head. "I'll try to find you when it's dawn." She sighed again, not wanting the wolf leave her as she walked into the door.

Fortunately for her, Moonlight followed after her and nudged the door closed. Ruby was too busy preparing her breakfast and setting it in the fridge to notice. By the time she turned around, she was surprised but happy that the wolf was staying with her, at least for tonight. She moved towards the bed and flopped down onto it, moving onto her side and making room for the wolf. "Come join me?"

Moonlight's ear twitched as it carefully jumped onto the bed and laid on its belly, resting its head on its paws. Ruby giggled and draped the blanket over them before wrapping an arm around the wolf. "Thank you, Moonlight. Good night." She whispered as she nuzzled against the wolf and closed her eyes, slowly falling asleep.

* * *

The next morning

Ruby stirred awake and hugged her pillow. Wait, pillow? She slowly opened her eyes and saw that Moonlight wasn't next to her. She sat up quickly, the creeping fear of someone breaking in and Moonlight defending her took over, but she soon relaxed when the wolf padded its way in.

"Moonlight…" Ruby threw the blankets off herself and scurried towards the wolf, falling onto her knees and wrapping her arms around the canine. "I'm so glad you're still here…"

Moonlight licked her cheek apologetically and whined.

Ruby held onto Moonlight for a while longer before pulling back. "S-Sorry. I guess being alone all this time kinda got to me." She stood up and sniffed the air, blinking, and looked down at the wolf. "D-Did you cook… breakfast?"

Moonlight just gave a smug grin as it nudged Ruby towards the table. Ruby walked towards the food that was laid out for her and was surprised to see some bread and meat waiting for her. A simple meal, but a good one. The brunette looked at the wolf, whose ears were folded back with worry.

"Thank you." Ruby smiled as she sat down and took a bite of the meat. It was a bit overcooked to her liking, but how can she complain when she has meat cooked by a wolf! She's still questioning how the wolf cooked her meal! Sure, Ruby prepared the meat before, but still! Can a wolf even use a stove?! She thought maybe the wolf changed into her werewolf form in order to cook, but if that's the case, why wouldn't she show that to her? Was it scary looking? Did she have a human form?

The brunette looked at Moonlight and patted her head, offering some meat to her, and was glad to see the wolf eating as well. "Good girl… right?" Ruby didn't know for sure, and Moonlight just nudged its snout against Ruby's arm. "Sorry, I know it's obvious and all." She laughed nervously, then thought about it. "Hmmm… you usually nudge me when I ask something. Should we try another way of communicating?"

Moonlight just tilted its head curiously, causing Ruby to giggle at how cute she looks.

"Bark once for yes and twice for no. Well… the same thing applies if you can't bark or if we need to be quiet on a job. You can scratch the floor or paw me. Got it?" Ruby smiled.

Moonlight nodded then barked once for Ruby, who just squealed with joy.

"Ok so uhm…" What did she want to know again? "Are you really ok with coming with me on this job?" Moonlight gave a small bark and a lick to the cheek. "Heh, I'll take that as a yes and don't worry about it?" She chuckled and thought of her next question until Moonlight nudged her hand. "Hmm?" Ruby looked down at Moonlight who had her scroll in her mouth. "What? Oh! The time! Ack! Thanks! Let's go!"

Ruby quickly ran into her room to make sure that she had everything and grabbed her cloak, wrapping it around herself before rushing out the door.

* * *

The brunette sighed as she looked around, thinking of what to do, and looked by her side to see Moonlight staying close to her. "Right… I should give you something so people know that you're not some stray dog and take you away from me…" Ruby hummed, thinking about it, and looked into her bag, pulling out a red mini scarf and tying it around Moonlight's neck. "Not too tight, is it?"

Moonlight shook her head and barked twice.

"Good." Ruby smiled. "This way, we match and people know that you're with me. And well…" She blushed a bit. "I made it for you, but didn't know when to give it to you. Seemed like now was a good time, right?"

Moonlight barked once and licked Ruby's cheek in thanks.

"Ahah, glad that you like it." She smiled, then looked at her scroll. "Alright… According to Ozpin, the White Fang should be around he—"

"Hey, beautiful. Ready for the mission today?" Jaune smirked as he wrapped an arm around Ruby's shoulder. When he heard a growl, he looked down. "Oh hey, cute dog. What's its name?" He reached to pet Moonlight and yelped when the wolf tried to bite him. "Hey! What a horrible pet."

Ruby slapped his arm off her. "One, Moonlight is a great and loyal wolf. Two, who the fuck said that I was working with you?"

"I did when Ozpin said that you were working on the White Fang mission solo. Can't have a beautiful woman such as yourself working on this dangerous mission alone." He winked.

Ruby just groaned. "Jaune. Go home. I have Moonlight, and that's all I need." Moonlight barked and huffed as she stayed near Ruby, nuzzling her hand.

"Oh please, you need a great man such as myself to help you. You don't need some mutt. After today's mission, we could go… celebrate. If you know what I mean." Jaune whispered huskily into Ruby's ear.

"I said no!" Ruby shoved him away from her. Moonlight jumped onto Jaune, shoving him onto the ground and went back to Ruby's side with a huff, whimpering as she nuzzled Ruby's side. "Let's go, Moonlight." Without waiting for a reply, Ruby ran off.

Moonlight followed closely by Ruby's side and when they found a bench, Ruby sat down, covering her face within her hands. The wolf whined and licked Ruby's hand, wanting to know if she's all right.

"I-I'm fine. That guy seriously can't take 'no' for an answer." She sighed as she rubbed Moonlight's head, smiling at seeing the wolf plop her head onto her lap. "Thank you, I feel better already."

Moonlight huffed and moved a paw onto Ruby's lap with a whine.

"I promise, I'm fine." Ruby giggled and scratched Moonlight's ears. "Right, our mission." The brunette hummed and looked at the details Ozpin gave her again. Seemed like the only information that he gave her was that they were near her, and a symbol of what they wear.

Sighing, she memorized the symbol before putting her scroll away and got up. Moonlight quickly got up and attached herself to Ruby's side. Ruby smiled and rubbed the wolf's head as they walked. "How am I supposed to do this job if he doesn't give me that much information?" She sighed as she looked around and saw a man walking towards the bar. From what she could tell, he had black hair in a white hood, with a tattoo of the White Fang symbol on his arm. Talk about a secretive group.

"…Complain and I shall receive?" Ruby raised a brow and looked at Moonlight, who huffed as they casually walked by the bar. The brunette pressed a button on her scroll to record what was being said as she passed by. She kept her pace casual enough to hear everything they said, but not enough to draw suspicion.

After she passed by, Moonlight glanced up at Ruby, then started to run ahead. "Ack! Moonlight!" Ruby chased after her and glanced back to see the man still outside the bar. She sighed in relief and looked at the wolf. "Don't just run off like that!"

Moonlight whined, her ears folded back as she nudged at her scroll. "What is it? Should I listen to the conversation he had?" Ruby raised a brow and walked Moonlight towards the bench not too far away so she could keep an eye on the man and the bar.

"Listen, I can't let you in. Adam's orders are to wait for him."

"Adam?" Ruby mumbled as she idly rubbed Moonlight's head. "Is he the leader of the White Fang, or just one of them?"

"Well Adam can go fuck himself. I need my drugs man." The man begged with the other man from the door. "The Tigress is Descending."

"Ack! Moonlight!" Ruby looked at Moonlight who was staring at the man intently, her ears perking when he went inside. There might've been some information that she missed, but maybe the wolf running was a good idea. She didn't want to cause suspicion being nearby like that anyways. What kind of bar is that? What's inside?

The brunette stood up and started walking towards the bar, Moonlight staying near her side. Ruby stood outside, looking at it as if she were window-shopping. Unfortunately, a man came out to shoo her away.

"Hey kid, unfortunately there's no juices or milk inside. Why don't you scram until you're old enough to enter." He huffed, crossing his arms.

Ruby frowned. "Hey! Just so you know, I'm twenty! I'm just looking for a bar my family would like!" She huffed back, quickly thinking of an excuse to enter.

"Unless your family are Faunus, this ain't the right bar for them to join. Stuff in here is really strong. Not that a kid like you would understand. Come back again next year."

'So only Faunus are allowed in? Great, I should tell Ozpin about tha-' Ruby's thoughts were interrupted when she felt someone grab her shoulder. "Gah! I'm about to lea- …Yang?"

"I thought it was you. What are you doing here?" Yang raised a brow and pulled Ruby away from the bar.

Moonlight growled at the blonde for touching Ruby and scaring her like that, but calmed down when she felt Ruby's hand on her head. "Shh, it's ok, Moonlight. She's my sister." Ruby smiled and continued to rub the wolf's head. "What… are you doing here, Yang?"

"If you looked at the texts I sent you, I said that I was being transferred back here with my wife starting today." Yang crossed her arms. "And since when did you get a…" She paused for a moment as she looked over Moonlight. Sharper features, intelligent look in her blue eyes, clean coat of fur… "Is that a wolf? Ruby… What about Zwei?"

"Zwei's still with mum and dad. Sometimes with Uncle Qrow. He wasn't there when I visited them last night, so he's most likely with Uncle Qrow right now." Ruby looked down when she felt Moonlight nuzzling her head against her side. "Now if you excuse me, I have a job to finish."

"Hold on. If it's investigating the White Fang, Ozpin gave us that job as well. Before you ask, when we arrived at the station, he asked if we would be able to work with you. 'We' being me and Blake." Yang looked over her younger sister, trying to read her expression. "Though seems like you're determined to do this on your own. What's going on?"

Ruby frowned. "Nothing's going on. I'm not a baby anymore, Yang." She huffed and turned to walk away. "…You might have a better chance getting in there though. He said only Faunus are allowed in there, and you're older."

"Ru—" Yang reached for her but was surprised when Ruby slapped her hand away.

"Sorry, but I really want to be alone right now." Ruby then turned and sprinted away.

Moonlight stayed for a moment, watching Yang's expression and heard her mumble "Do you blame me for leaving?" before following after Ruby.

Ruby panted as she leaned against an abandoned building, sliding down and pulling her knees to her chest. The wolf rushed over and nudged against Ruby's shoulder, placing a gentle paw on her arm with a small whimper.

"It's ok, Moonlight… It… It was my fault." She sighed. "I told Yang to transfer."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Here's a bit more of the puppy. If you hate Jaune now, you'll hate him later on. ...and just realized kinda made Ruby a bit ooc with that part. Oops...
> 
> Thanks for reading~ Hope that y'all enjoy. See ya next time.


	4. Report and Family

"I told Yang to transfer." Ruby sighed as she idly rubbed Moonlight's head. "She was offered a better position in Menagerie, and at the time, it was where her girlfriend lived. Yang didn't want to transfer at first, but I convinced her to. It was better for both of us." She forced a smile. "She gets a better job, and I get a chance to breathe."

Moonlight whined as she nudged Ruby's side when she said that.

"Don't worry about it. It's nothing important." Ruby tried to brush it off but the look on Moonlight's face and how she had her paw on her hand told her that the wolf cared for her. "Moonlight…" She sighed and rubbed her head. "Thank you." The brunette leaned back and looked up at the sky. "Let's just say… for as long as I can remember, I've always been compared to my mother. Dad and Yang… they used to say that I was just like her. So much that… it kinda felt like I wasn't my own person." She laughed at herself. "Kinda stupid. I know."

The wolf huffed and licked her hand to comfort her. Her ear twitched and she stood up, on guard as she started growling.

"Moonlight?" Ruby sat up and looked towards where the wolf was growling and saw a person slowly walking towards them.

"Ruby Rose?" They spoke calmly, yet Ruby felt a chill go down her spine.

"I think you got the wrong person." Ruby tried to play it off but as soon as she got up, Moonlight lunged at the person and the brunette stumbled back. "Ack!"

"Quite the guard dog you have here. Or should I say…" Ruby saw the person's eyes glow yellow as they used their bag to keep Moonlight away from them. " _Werewolf?_ "

Ruby's eyes widened and she reached into her pocket for her pocket knife. She was ready to defend herself and Moonlight if she could, but didn't get that chance.

"Blake? What are you doing here with Ruby?" Yang raised a brow as she walked over towards them. "Is her wolf trying to attack you? Ruby, that could get your wolf put down."

"It was self defense." Blake eased the wolf down and watched how quickly it moved back towards Ruby's side. "I supposed I should've waited for you instead of looking for her on my own. Her wolf thought that I was a threat and reacted accordingly." She smiled at Ruby. "Your sister is in great hands."

"Wait… _you're_ Blake Belladonna?" Ruby stared at her sister's wife.

"You would've _known_ if you came to our wedding." Yang laughed and wrapped an arm around her wife. "Ruby, this is my wife. Blake Belladong."

"It's not too late for me to divorce you." Blake rolled her eyes and offered her hand carefully. "Blake Belladonna. It's nice to meet you, Ruby. I'm sorry for the scare. I didn't know that you had a well trained wolf to protect you from Weres."

Ruby laughed nervously, shaking Blake's hand. "Uhm… she's a special wolf to me." She honestly couldn't describe her relationship with the wolf to the others. How was she supposed to tell them that this wolf has been watching her for three years, that she knew of, and just yesterday was able to talk with her? They would think that she's crazy!

Moonlight merely huffed and continued to glare at Blake, growling lowly. "Moonlight, please be nice." The wolf whined and nudged Ruby's side. "Thank you." She giggled and rubbed Moonlight's head. "Well it was nice seeing you two, but I should go."

"Ruby, wait." Yang scratched the back of her head. "I-I know that you said that you wanted to be alone but… do you wanna grab some lunch with me and Blake?"

"Yang…" Ruby glanced at Blake, then felt Moonlight nudging her hand. "Alright, we can grab lunch. But I really should get back to my mission."

Yang smiled and thought about it. "Hmm… What should we get? Pizza? Burgers?"

"Are you gonna buy me a steak?" Ruby joked as she thought of what food to get for Moonlight as well.

"There is a good steakhouse around the corner." Blake hummed as she looked at her scroll.

"Steak it is!" Yang cheered and wrapped an arm around her wife. "So where is it?"

Ruby watched them, a weird feeling bubbling in her chest until Moonlight snapped her out of her mini trance with a nudge to the side. The brunette smiled and rubbed her head. "I'm fine, Moonlight. It's just… nice to have someone care for you…"

Moonlight's ears folded apologetically. "Wait, why are you apologizing? It's not your fault! You've been watching me for years!" Ruby tried to reason with the wolf but only saw that Moonlight was more distressed. "Ack, I mean…" The brunette whined and knelt down, wrapping her arms around the wolf. "I'm just really glad that we can be this close now."

"Not to ruin the moment or anything…" Blake looked back at the duo. "Should we take the streak to go then?"

Ruby blushed a bit and stood up quickly. "N-Nope! Let's go!" She took a few steps ahead but didn't want to talk to anyone really. What she didn't notice was Blake staying behind with Moonlight for the moment.

"Judging by her reaction, she doesn't know about your other forms?" Blake asked, keeping her distance from the wolf. Moonlight merely glared at Blake, causing the werecat to nod slowly. "Don't worry. I won't tell her. It's just interesting to see a werewolf staying in their wolf form." She paused for a moment. "Does she know about your Were form, at the very least?"

Moonlight gave a low bark and whine. "I'll take that as a yes." Blake offered her hand. "If she's not scared, you either haven't shown her enough times, or she accepted you for who you are."

Moonlight sniffed the hand and just pawed it away.

"Moonlight! I thought I told you to be nice!" Ruby scolded as she went back towards them.

"Don't worry about it, Ruby. I guess we weren't meant to get along. Cats and dogs, I mean." Blake waved her off, keeping her promise to Moonlight, but wondered why she was so secretive.

"Cat?" Ruby blinked and saw that Blake's ears on top of her head. Shows how much she was paying attention. "You're…"

"A werecat." Blake smiled. "If you have questions…" She trailed off, unsure if Ruby wanted to know more or not.

"You can tell me more." Ruby smiled and rubbed Moonlight's head. They walked back towards Yang, the blonde was happy to see her sister and wife getting along. Now herself getting along with the wolf… is a different story.

"Yang? What's up?" Blake took her wife's hand, worried about her. "Is this about Ruby?"

Yang laughed and shook her head. "No. Well… yeah." She frowned and looked up to see that they were at the steakhouse already. "I'll tell you later. For now, let's just enjoy ourselves." She smiled and went inside.

There was a bit of trouble finding a table, as the steakhouse was weary about the wolf walking around. Seeing how obedient Moonlight was, and how adamant Ruby was to not leave the wolf outside on her own, they managed to get a table outside as Moonlight settled herself under Ruby's chair, curling up so she was out of the way of people when they walked by.

"Damn Ruby, didn't think that Moonlight was this well trained." Yang looked at the wolf on the floor.

"Ahaha… if I'm being honest, this is the first time I've seen her in this kind of place." Ruby scratched the back of her head sheepishly, then looked at Moonlight. "I've only really seen her in the forest where I live."

"Forest?" Yang raised a brow. "What about mum and dad?"

"I've been living on my own for like two years now, Yang." Ruby rolled her eyes, waiting for the berating her sister was about to give her. ' _Three… two… one…'_

"Living on your own?!" Yang was surprised by this and sighed. "No wonder you didn't know I got married last year." She frowned. The blonde looked up at Ruby, about to say something but stopped herself.

"Well sorry for that, but I really need my space. I'm not a kid anymore." Ruby swirled the glass slowly, watching the water swish around for a moment before drinking it. "I guess since you're here, you can tell me everything I missed."

"I… well…" Yang frowned, unsure of what to start with. Luckily for her, Blake placed a hand over hers and looked at Ruby. "How far back do you want to know?"

"I guess…" Ruby thought about it. "When Yang transferred?

Blake nodded. "Well you know why Yang was transferred?"

"Wasn't it from a lottery or something?" Ruby raised a brow, looking at her sister for confirmation.

"Something like that. Overall skills and whatnot." Yang laughed nervously. "I was chosen 'cause I was great friends with Blake before the transfer. I guess that they sorta figured to start with people that actually got along with Faunus, to see how well we worked together."

"It was a rocky start since it was mostly Faunus, but Menagerie and Vale were working on having humans and Faunus work together." Blake added. "The first day, many Faunus were scared to approach her. I was amongst a few that weren't scared of her."

"I was surprised to see a handful of Human-Faunus partnered together. It was me and Blake, a team from Vacuo- Coco and Velvet- then a team from Haven- Sun and Neptune." Yang wrapped an arm around Blake. "There was supposed to be another team from Atlas, but there were some complications for some reason."

Ruby nodded slowly. "For some reason, humans didn't want to work with Faunus, since they felt like Faunus were the closest to Weres…" She looked at Blake. "Is that true?"

"Half right." Blake shrugged. "Yes, some Faunus are Weres like myself, but, from the Faunus perspective, humans couldn't be trusted with how crafty their minds were. True, some Faunus can be crafty as well because of our animalistic traits, but we usually found humans more distrustful."

"So that's when they thought grabbing a handful of Human-Faunus pairs would help ease that tension." Yang sighed. "It… was a bit rocky at first, since most of the Faunus _claimed_ that I brainwashed Blakey here."

Blake nudged her shoulder. "They also claimed that I brainwashed you. Being a werecat for some reason. They think that I have magical powers like that." She rolled her eyes.

"Erm… you don't?" Ruby didn't want to be rude about it, but she was curious to know what Blake can and can't do.

"Maybe a light hypnosis, but it's easy to break out of it."

Ruby listened to Blake and Yang as they talked about how they met and what kind of missions they'd been on. Ruby accidentally admitted what kind of missions she'd been on lately, causing Yang to freak out.

"Excuse me?! Rubes, I know that you're safe and everything, seeing that you're here, but going into burning buildings kinda missions? You're going to the docs after, right? Just to make sure that your lungs aren't burnt and whatnot?" Yang gave her sister a worried look.

"Ugh, Yang." Ruby rolled her eyes. "I've been through some training for this kind of stuff, and my cloak keeps me safe." She sighed. "But depending on how bad the fires were, I see Dr. Oobleck."

Yang let out a visible sigh of relief, then saw their steaks coming in. Two steaks for herself and Ruby while Blake had a fish steak. Ruby cut a few pieces and offered them to Moonlight, giggling as she felt the wolf's tongue licking her hand clean.

"So… How did you two meet?" Blake asked as she cut into her fish steak, enjoying how savory it was. "You and Moonlight, I mean."

Ruby looked up at Blake, and looked down at Moonlight with a fond smile. "Moonlight's been watching me ever since I've been in the forest. At least I think she has. Every time I've been in trouble, like real actual trouble, she's always there to save me." She gave the wolf a pat on the head. "I'd… honestly be lost and dead without her."

Blake gave a small smile of understanding as she listened to her story, then glanced at Yang who looked worried. The werecat placed a hand onto Yang's, understanding why she was worried, but wanting to dispel some of her worries.

"So you just took her outta the woods?" Yang huffed, finishing her food and pulling out lien to pay for it while her wife asked for a box to take the food to go.

"I asked her if she wanted to come with me." Ruby glared at Yang who held her hands up in defense.

"Hey, I'm not saying that you wolfnapped her outta the woods or anything."

"Sure sounded like it." Ruby pouted and crossed her arms, looking down when Moonlight nudged her leg. She gave her a soft smile and rubbed her head.

Yang raised a brow. "You said that Moonlight just started to really hang with you just last night? She seems really obedient and loyal to you. And she's way too obedient for never leaving the woods before. Sure she doesn't have an owner or anything?"

"I dunno." Ruby shrugged. "Like I said, she's always watching over me. I guess hearing what kind of missions I've been going on worried her?" When Yang suggested that Moonlight had an owner, she frowned. It was a high possibility, but why wouldn't the owner show themselves to her?

Blake looked down at the wolf, who just slowly moved under the chair and rested her head against Ruby's leg. The werecat studied the wolf and remembered what Ruby said so far about them. ' _Did she…?_ "

"Blakey? Time to go check in with Ozpin." Yang placed a hand onto her wife's shoulder.

"Hmm? Oh, right." Blake nodded as she grabbed the box and stood up. "Are you coming back with us, Ruby?"

Ruby thought about it for a moment and sighed when Moonlight nudged her side. "Yeah, I will. Need to report to Ozpin what I found out so far about the White Fang." She glanced at Blake and didn't like the look she was giving her. "…What is it? And don't try to say it's nothing."

"Well…" Blake hesitated for a moment, then felt Yang's hand holding hers. "I… My father was… the founder of the White Fang. But he disbanded them when I was born."

"Really?" Ruby raised a brow but shook her head. "I'll hear more from you after reporting to Ozpin. Maybe we'll figure something out about them."

Yang smiled and walked with Blake after Ruby, who was busy rubbing Moonlight's side as they walked.

* * *

"Welcome back, Ruby. I see you have met Yang and Blake as well." Ozpin greeted them as he swirled his coffee. "What have you found out while you were out?" He eyed the wolf, but didn't say anything as she sat down next to Ruby.

"Something about drugs, and a man named Adam. Oh, and ' _The Tigress is Descending_ ' or something like that." Ruby placed down her scroll to replay what she heard.

They listened to the recording and Yang glared at Moonlight. "You just _had_ to pull her away when they got to the good part, didn't you?"

"No, I would actually praise the wolf for understanding the dangers of what would've happened if Ruby stayed there." Ozpin looked at the wolf. "If Ruby had stayed, they might've apprehended her. Knowing she was a detective or not didn't matter. Learning this much just from 'passing by' is good enough."

Ruby smiled and rubbed Moonlight's head for a moment before looking back at Ozpin. "So what's our next objective?"

"Finding out what drugs this Adam is sending. And what does ' _The Tigress is Descending_ ' mean?" Ozpin looked at Blake. "Do you know anything?"

"Just a bit." Blake frowned, ears folding. "If I had to guess, Sienna Khan is the Tigress. I did ask my father about the people that were in the White Fang before he disbanded them. To think that they would reorganize them behind his back though…" She shook her head, ashamed of the Faunus that did that.

"What about Adam?" Ruby crossed her arms.

"He…" Blake hesitated then sighed. "He _was_ my friend. I don't know what happened, but he usually followed Sienna and listened to her. He tried to get me to join the White Fang, but I refused, wanting to be a detective. I guess something snapped in him, because I personally never heard anything from him in years after that. Only rumors."

"What kinds of rumors?" Ozpin took a sip of his coffee.

Yang held Blake's hand and looked at everyone. "That he drugged anyone that he came across until they were of no use to him."

Ozpin sighed as he placed down his cup. "I'm afraid that this may be far more serious than I thought."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: And thank you for reading this chapter~ The updates might be a bit slower since I only wrote up to this point before uploading this fic. Hope that you can forgive me. See y'all next time!


	5. Hidden Lead

Ruby frowned as she tapped away on her laptop. She couldn't find anything about Adam or Sienna, and it frustrated her to no end.

"Why can't I find anything?" She grumbled to herself as she leaned back against her chair. The brunette sighed as she looked at the ceiling for a moment to breathe, then grunted as she sat up again. "Gotta keep trying." She mumbled to herself as she remembered what Ozpin said last week.

" _Great job finding this information, Ruby. Take the week off and lay low for a while. Yang and Blake, I need you two to find a bit more information on Sienna, seeing as you knew her previously."_

" _Take the week off?" Ruby frowned, not really feeling like resting, but it would give her a good break from Jaune._

" _That is correct. I'll contact you again when I need your help." Ozpin placed a hand onto Ruby's shoulder. "You've done a great job, Ruby. I'm sure that your mother would be proud."_

_Ruby clenched her fists but forced a smile. "Yeah. I'm sure she would be too." Without waiting for a response, she quickly walked out of the room._

"Maybe I should find Moonlight…" She mumbled and got up from her desk, grabbing her cloak and wrapping it around herself.

Moonlight had been around, but she rarely stayed the entire night. There were times when the brunette cuddled with the wolf to sleep, only to wake up alone the next day. With a heavy sigh, she pulled the cloak tighter around herself and walked through the woods.

Ruby trudged through the trees and looked around. Part of her didn't want to travel too far, but the other part didn't want to be alone. "Moonlight… where are you?" The brunette looked up when she heard a tree branch crunch. "Moonlight?"

"I'm sorry, but I'm not who you're looking for." An old man, who looked no older than sixty, appeared from behind a tree. He had white hair and blue eyes, and Ruby noticed that he was wearing a red scarf with a white snowflake on it, a white jacket, black shirt, blue pants, and black boots. It was a bit weird to her, but who is she to judge?

"Wh-Who are you?" Ruby took a step back. She didn't remember seeing anyone like him around. Was he a hiker that was lost in the woods? Was there even a hiking trail near here?

"Just an old man looking for his granddaughter. She ran into these woods earlier." He fixed his red scarf around his neck. "She should have a red scarf around her neck as well."

"I'm sorry, but I haven't seen anyone around here." Ruby stated carefully, taking another step back. Something about him felt… off. It was almost as if he was watching her, not in a creepy, perverted way, but in an observant way? She couldn't figure out what word she was looking for. All that she knew was that it felt like he was looking at her weird and she didn't like it.

"Would you be so kind in helping me find her?" The old man took a step forward, causing Ruby to take another step back. "She's precious to me."

"Uhm…" Ruby didn't know. This weird feeling was only growing stronger, but at the same time she didn't want to leave him on his own to find his granddaughter. "What does she look like? Besides having a red scarf like yours?"

"She has white hair and blue eyes." The old man paused a bit, as if thinking of his next words. "I just know that she ran into the woods earlier. She's been coming here a lot recently. I've been worried."

"Coming into the woods recently?" Ruby frowned. She's been attentive of who is around, but she hasn't seen anyone other than Moonlight, and she's a wolf. Not a little girl. "How old is your granddaughter?"

"She's…" The old man paused to think about it. "She'll be twenty-three this year."

"Twenty-three?" Ruby frowned. Something didn't seem right. "If she's an adult, why do you care where she goes?"

"Would you believe me if I said that she's the only family I have left?" The old man chuckled. "But she doesn't interact with other people as much. That's why I'm worried about her."

Ruby still had a bad feeling. She didn't know if it was coming from the old man, or from the news about his granddaughter. "Why didn't you just go to the police about it?"

"Aren't you a detective?"

Ruby's eyes widened. How did he know? "I think that you're mistaking me for someone else." She was trying to hide the fear in her voice, but failed at it.

"I don't think so. I know for a fact that my granddaughter has been around you for quite a while now." The old man took a step forward.

"Stay back!" Ruby reached into her pocket for her knife. Just before she pulled it out, a familiar white wolf jumped to her side. "M-Moonlight…?" Moonlight nuzzled against Ruby's side and stared at the old man, huffing a bit. "D-Do you know him?" Ruby was still wary of the old man and almost hid behind the wolf.

"Know me?" The old man laughed. "She's my granddaughter."

Ruby blinked. Twice. She looked at the old man, then at Moonlight, then back at the old man. "Moonlight's your granddaughter?!" She blinked and covered her mouth. "Oh, I'm sorry! What's her name? I've been calling her 'Moonlight' since she always appeared to me from time to time during the night. But I've never seen you before."

"That's quite alright, miss." The old man gave her a gentle smile but kept his distance. "My name's Nicholas. That wolf there is my granddaughter, Weiss. I've been wondering where she's been going these last few years. I know that she's smart, but today I thought that I'd see where she's been going to all this time, seeing as she's been leaving more frequently than usual."

The wolf rolled her eyes and nuzzled against Ruby again, who fell to her knees. Moonlight worriedly licked Ruby's cheek, almost asking if she was alright.

"I-I'm fine, Moonlight. Er… Weiss." Ruby frowned as she looked up at Nicholas. "You said that she's your granddaughter. What do you mean by that?"

Nicholas gave Ruby a soft smile. "I mean what I said. She's my granddaughter. She may be a…" He paused for a moment to collect his thoughts. "…wolf. But she's still my granddaughter. I wouldn't trade her for anyone in the world."

Ruby looked at Weiss, who huffed and nuzzled against Ruby's head. "I guess you're telling the truth…" The brunette hummed, thinking that he was just an old man who was lonely, and whose only family was a wolf. Wait. "Didn't you say that she's twenty-three? How long do wolves live?" She looked at Weiss worriedly.

"Weiss is…" Nicholas thought about it, then chuckled slightly before continuing. "She's a very special wolf." Weiss' ears folded back as she nuzzled against Ruby's side. "Tell you what. She can stay with you."

"Really?" Ruby looked up at Nicholas then back at Weiss, who just stared back at him in shock. "But… you said that she's precious to you. Is that… alright?"

Nicholas smiled. "Of course. I know that you'll both take care of each other. I only ask that you'll come with her when she visits from time to time." He gave a little bow. "It's best I be going soon. I'll be seeing you soon, Ruby." He then disappeared behind the trees.

"Wait!" Ruby immediately stood up. "How did you know my name…?" The brunette looked at Weiss, who stood up and nudged against her hand. "Did you tell him?" Weiss nodded and licked her hand apologetically. "No, it's ok! Just… It's weird…" She sighed but then smiled. "Let's go home. Seeing him today kinda tired me out for some reason."

Concern filled the wolf as she moved under Ruby and stood up, giving the brunette a ride.

"Ack! W-Weiss! I'm fine!" Ruby blushed a bit and rubbed her side. "Thank you though. I-I'm not heavy… am I?"

Weiss huffed and started walking back towards Ruby's cabin, staying silent as she walked carefully so Ruby wouldn't fall.

"Hey… Weiss…?" Ruby asked as she ran her fingers through Weiss' fur. The wolf huffed and an ear twitched to show that she was listening. "Do you think that maybe… One day, I can see your human form? Wh-When you want to of course!" Weiss' ears folded. "I-I'm sorry! Just… f-forget I asked." Ruby jumped off Weiss once they were home. "Thank you. I should start cooking dinner."

Weiss let out a low whimper as she followed behind Ruby. _Some day…_

* * *

"So… welcome to my home. Er... our home?" Ruby rubbed her head and quickly grabbed some firewood off to the side.

Weiss nuzzled against Ruby's side and pawed at the door, struggling with the door knob. Giggling at how cute that was, Ruby gently nudged Weiss away so that she could open the door for her. Though that did raise a few questions in her mind.

"So… since we're living together for now, can you answer some questions for me?" Ruby walks the wolf towards her bedroom, closing the door behind her. Weiss sat by the desk, tilting her head curiously. "Do… you only turn into your werewolf or human form when I'm asleep?"

Weiss just whimpered and turned away, giving Ruby her answer.

Ruby scratched the back of her head. She knew that she just told Weiss earlier that she wouldn't ask to see her werewolf or human form, but that didn't mean that she wasn't curious. With a sigh, she decided to completely drop it, for now.

"We should get you a bed set up. And grab some extra food to cook for you." Ruby thought about it and looked at the bed. The few times she got Weiss to stay, they fit in the bed so…

Weiss whimpered as she pawed at Ruby's leg. Ruby looked down and smiled. "You're right. We don't need to set up a bed for you. You can just sleep with me." She chuckled. "But we should get some extra food. I don't know how much you can eat, after all."

Weiss huffed and woofed at Ruby who just tilted her head in confusion. "Weiss, I don't speak wolf, remember?" She chuckled and hummed at the thought. "You could always hunt for our meat and I'll look for some herbs and mushrooms that we can eat? Is that what you eat anyways? I usually go to the store in town to grab some necessities." The brunette looked at the wolf and rubbed her head. "We could always figure it out over the next few days."

Weiss nuzzled against Ruby's hand, loving her touch and nuzzling against her side. "You're really affectionate, aren't you?" Ruby giggled and moved towards the bed. "I think I'll take a nap, then cook some dinner for us. Want to join me?" The brunette giggled again when the wolf jumped onto the bed and curled around Ruby, resting her head onto her side.

"Good night, Weiss." Ruby cuddled close to the wolf, closing her eyes, and soon drifted off to sleep.

* * *

Ruby groaned as she stirred awake and reached for her buzzing scroll. "Damn… thing…" She mumbled sleepily and felt a furred head nudging her hand and dropped the scroll onto the bed. "Thanks, Moonlight…" The brunette rolled over and sat up, stretching, and chuckled when Weiss jumped onto the bed, curling around her from behind. "Curious about the text? Or you just like it when I lean on you?"

Weiss didn't answer and just plopped her head down onto Ruby's pillow.

"I'll take it as the second answer." Ruby chuckled again and looked at the message. "Oh, it's from Ozpin." She leaned against Weiss and opened the message.

Ozpin [8:34 AM] Good morning, Ruby. I need you to come in immediately. I will tell you more once you arrive.

"Come in immediately?" Ruby raised a brow and sighed. She got up and changed her clothes. Weiss jumped off the bed and gave a little bark, nodding towards the gun laying on her desk.

"Oh… that…" Ruby frowned as she rubbed Weiss' head. "I… can't use a gun. I mean, I _can,_ but I need to be in the right mindset." Weiss licked Ruby's shaking hand as an apology for asking and bringing back bad memories. "No, it's not your fault. I mean, what kind of detective am I if I can't use a gun, right?" The brunette laughed at herself.

Weiss still whimpered and moved under Ruby again to give her a ride. "Ack! Weiss! Keep this up and I'll have to watch what I eat so I don't squish you!" Ruby blushed and rubbed her head. "Thank you though."

The wolf barked and walked towards the door before huffing. Maybe she should've waited till they were both _out_ the door before she gave Ruby a ride…

* * *

Ruby walked into Ozpin's office with Weiss and saluted. "Ruby Rose, reporting in. Oh, and Wei… er, Moonlight's with me."

Ozpin raised a brow at the name but dismissed it for now. "I apologize for calling you in so early, Ruby. This is about the man you recorded last week." He sighed as she turned his chair and stood up, walking towards the white board. "Is this him? From what you remember?" He held up a picture of a man in a white hood. Some black hair was poking from under it, and he had the White Fang symbol tattooed on his arm.

"I think so. I remember thinking 'For such a secretive group, why did they decide to openly have the tattoo on their arm?' or something like that…" Ruby looked at Ozpin. "What's going on?"

Ozpin sighed again as he put up the picture onto the white board. "He died last night." Ruby's eyes widened and Weiss moved closer to support her. "I know that you're in shock, but I just want to confirm that everything you recorded was everything that you know."

Ruby snapped out of her shock and stood straight, rubbing Weiss' head in thanks. "I did try to go into the bar, but they wouldn't let me in. Something about being underaged, and that it was Faunus only."

"Thank you." Ozpin nodded and put up another picture. Ruby's eyes widened as she saw a picture of the same man, only that he was now on the floor, and blood was flowing from his head. "I know that this is sudden, but we had a lead on him. We trailed him towards the port and… as you can see here." He sighed as he sat down. "I believe you understand why I have a few pairs working on this. I don't want a large group together, just in case."

"I understand." Ruby nodded and looked at the photo. "Can I look around the port where he was last seen? Maybe I'll find a clue or something."

Ozpin raised a brow and nodded. "Go ahead. Take Moonlight with you too." Ruby then saluted and turned to leave. "Ruby?" The brunette paused and looked back at Ozpin. "Please, do be careful."

"Of course." Ruby nodded and walked out of his office with Weiss. "Alright, let's see… Where's that port that he was found…" She mumbled to herself.

"Ruby!" Jaune called as he ran towards her. "I heard that you were off the entire week! Why haven't you been answering my texts?" He pouted.

Ruby's eye twitched and she felt Weiss' growing annoyance with him. She couldn't blame the wolf, and pulled Weiss closer to try to keep her calm. "I've been busy with other stuff. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm busy with a new mission that Ozpin gave me." She waved him off.

"Oh? Lemme come with you." Jaune grinned and was about to wrap an arm around her shoulder until he heard a loud growl. "Is that your stoma—HEY! No pets are allowed in here!" He jumped back when Weiss gave him a warning bark.

"I told you before, she's not a pet! Now leave me alone!" Ruby huffed as she quickly left with Weiss.

"Hey! Ruby!" Jaune was about to follow her until he heard his friends talking to him.

"Jaune. Every time we see you asking to team up, she's been saying 'no.' Why don't you take a hint." Ren shook his head, feeling sorry for the poor girl. He did his best to stop Jaune whenever he could, but there was no stopping the blonde boy for some reason.

"Nah, she's not saying 'no.' She's just playing hard to get." Jaune smirked, confident that Ruby liked him. "I'll get her soon enough."

"And this is why most of the girls here don't like you." Nora rolled her eyes as she grabbed a handful of chips and stuffed them into her mouth. She didn't have to worry about Jaune's advances towards her, because she could easily beat him up if she needed to, and Ren was protective of her anyway. "Just because she was nice _one_ time…"

"She's into me! You're both just blind!" Jaune crossed his arms, pouting that his friends didn't believe in him and his abilities to pick up women.

"I think _you're_ the one that's blind…" Ren sighed. Nora nodded in agreement before stuffing her face with chips again.

* * *

"Stupid Jaune and his stupid advances…" Ruby mumbled to herself as she looked at her scroll while walking. She yelped when Weiss bit her shirt and pulled her back. The brunette looked up and blinked, seeing that she was about to cross the street on a red light. "O-Oops… thanks, Weiss. You really saved me. Like always." Ruby smiled and knelt down, hugging the wolf as she kissed her head.

Weiss whined as she nuzzled against Ruby's head and moved under her to give her a ride again.

"Ack! W-Weiss! You don't… Ok maybe you do…" Ruby sighed as she rubbed Weiss' head. "Thank you. You're always looking out for me." Weiss' ear twitched as she walked forward. She stopped walking and looked around, unsure of where to go. "Oh, right. Uhm… give me a sec…" Ruby looked at the scroll for the address and directed the wolf on where to go.

It took them half an hour until they were at the port. "Alright." Ruby jumped off Weiss and rubbed her head in thanks before walking ahead. She looked around, seeing nothing too interesting to note. Sighing, she looked at the photo Ozpin sent her of what she saw earlier. "Judging from this photo, he was killed around… Here." She mumbled as she stopped walking and looked around the area.

Weiss stepped forward next to Ruby and sniffed the ground to see if she could find anything.

"Do you smell anything?" Ruby looked at Weiss, then laughed at herself. "What am I saying? Even if you did, I wouldn't really understand. This would be easier if we could talk to each other." She sighed, wanting another friend to talk to. Shaking that thought out of her head, she walked around and raised a brow at some hidden containers. "Weiss? What do you think of this?" The brunette hummed as she crossed her arms, looking at a container.

On it, it looked faded, but there was a symbol of some triangles evenly spaced apart, forming a circle. "Where…" Ruby frowned, thinking of where she saw something similar to it. She even had a feeling that it was recently that she saw it too.

Weiss continued to sniff around and sneezed, shaking her head.

"Oh, Weiss." Ruby giggled and rubbed her head. "I guess this place is pretty dusty." She frowned and looked around. "Let's do a quick once around then we can leave."

The brunette walked along the walls and between the crates, in case the investigation team missed something, and sighed when she didn't see anything new. She found a messy room with boxes thrown about. Ruby looked at the pictures on her scroll, and shook her head when she couldn't find anything of note. The only thing that was bothering her was the faded symbols she saw around on some of the boxes. Just in case, she took pictures of them, as clear as she could get them, before looking at the wolf. "That should be enough. Ready to go?"

Weiss sneezed again and shook her head, using her paw to wipe her nose.

Ruby nearly squealed at the sight and gently nudged her out of the room. "Alright. Once we're done with work today, we can go shopping for some bowls and supplies for you, go home, and take a nice, long bath to clean you up. How does that sound?"

Weiss stared at Ruby, almost asking if she was serious, and followed after her.

"Yes, I'm serious. We'll be bathing every day to keep your fur nice and clean." Ruby teased the wolf on the way to report to Ozpin.

Little did she know, she was being watched as she left. "Call off the clean up. There's a rat we need to watch."

* * *

"There's nothing new to really report. Everything I've seen there was in the pictures you have." Ruby sighed as she shook her head.

"No, it's better to be safe than sorry. Thank you for checking." Ozpin nodded, then leaned back against his chair. "You do look a little bothered. Is there something wrong?"

Ruby thought about it and Weiss nudged her arm. "Well… some of the symbols in that area seemed familiar. But they're all faded, so it could be anything, right?" She scratched the back of her head.

"Hmm… If it sticks out to you, then it might be important." Ozpin hummed and looked through the pictures. "These ones?"

Ruby leaned over the desk and nodded. "Yeah, those. But see how faded they are? It could be anything." She shrugged.

"They could be, but I'm curious to know why they stick out to you. As you said, they're faded, and could be any symbol from any store." Ozpin looked at Ruby as he folded his hands together. "I trust your instincts."

"Right now, my instincts are saying that I'm overthinking it." She shifted uncomfortably. "If that's all, I'll be going now." Ruby looked at Weiss, who nuzzled her hand.

"Go home for today. You seem a little distracted, and I'd like my workers to be in top shape." Ozpin smiled. "If there is a need for you, I'll contact you. You are dismissed."

Ruby smiled and nodded. Sometimes she was glad for this job. "Thank you, sir. I'll see you tomorrow." She then left his office with the wolf in tow.

Once Ruby left, Ozpin called for Blake and Yang. "I need you two to contact Velvet and Coco. There's something that I'd like them to check for me."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: And here's finally the next chapter. So sorry that took so long. Haven't been feeling 100% lately. Hope that y'all enjoyed! See y'all next time!


	6. The Truth

Ruby hummed as she sat at her desk, tapping away at her laptop, and eating her dinner. Weiss was sitting next to her, her head on the brunette's lap. Ruby gave Weiss a bit of chicken from her dinner once in a while, as she looked up various symbols online.

"Where have I seen that symbol before…?" Ruby hummed as she took a sip of water from her glass and leaned back.

Weiss placed a paw onto Ruby's lap, lightly nudging her towards the bed.

"Hmm? It's a bit early to sleep though, Weiss." Ruby frowned and saw the look that Weiss was giving her. "I'm not pushing myself that hard." She pouted but the wolf still kept her gaze. "Ok, fine… Maybe a night's rest will help me remember where I saw that faded symbol."

Weiss circled around Ruby as she got up and jumped onto the bed, watching the brunette walk into the bathroom and close the door.

Ruby brushed her teeth and washed her face before walking back towards the bed. Once she was close enough, she plopped next to the wolf and cuddled close. "I'm glad that you're here with me, Weiss." The wolf merely licked her cheek and laid her head down. The brunette giggled and nuzzled against Weiss' fur, slowly falling asleep.

* * *

Ruby rolled onto her back and rubbed her eyes when the sunlight hit her face. "Weiss…?" She mumbled as she looked to her side, her warm wolf nowhere to be seen. "Weiss?" The brunette sat up, worry running through her until she saw Weiss walking in from the door. "There you are…" She sighed in relief.

Weiss folded her ears and bowed her head apologetically as she padded her way towards the bed, plopping her head on it with a small whine.

"Oh no, no! It's ok! I was just worried that you left or were kidnapped… Er… would it be wolfnapped?" Ruby scratched the back of her head sheepishly as she got out of bed. "Did you cook breakfast for me again?" The brunette looked at the wolf as she made her way towards the bathroom.

Weiss stood up and lazily wagged her tail as she spun in a circle.

"One of these days, I'll have to wake up early and see how you're making me food." Ruby teased as she walked into the bathroom to brush her teeth and wash her face.

She walked out and saw that on the plate was a simple meal of scrambled eggs, bacon, and toast.

"I should go shopping for more ingredients, shouldn't I?" Ruby shook her head as she sat down and offered a strip of bacon to Weiss. Weiss gave an affirmative bark before munching onto the bacon strip, trying not to make a mess and licking the crumbs off the floor before licking her lips.

The brunette chuckled and gave her another strip and placed the eggs on the toast, taking a big bite of it as she looked at her scroll in case Ozpin sent a message.

Seeing as there wasn't anything, she hummed and finished the rest of the food, placing the dish into the sink to wash. After she washed the dish, Ruby walked back to her bedroom and chuckled, seeing Weiss pawing her work clothes on the bed. It looked almost as if Weiss was trying to straighten it out and get everything ready so Ruby can change and leave for work.

"Thanks, Weiss." Ruby rubbed Weiss' head and started to strip her pajamas off. Once she changed her clothes, she grabbed her scroll, seeing that it was charged thanks to Weiss. Part of her was glad that she got the hands-free charger now, seeing how helpful the wolf was being lately. The brunette hummed to herself as she walked towards the door and locked it, yelping when she felt the wolf lifting her up again.

"Weiss." Ruby whined with a slight blush. "I can walk on my own. You're always spoiling me." She didn't mind Weiss doing these things, it made her feel loved. Special. But she also felt bad that the wolf would push herself to spoil her like this.

Weiss merely huffed and started to walk towards Ruby's workplace. Ruby sighed and rubbed her side. "Alright… but only until we're out of the forest. And if you're hurt, tired, or sore, _please_ don't carry me anymore. Not even if I'm injured. I don't want you to overstrain yourself. _Please_." She emphasized what she meant and gave the wolf her best puppy dog eyes, and she internally cheered when she saw that Weiss agreed. "Thank you."

Their walk was silent, save for Ruby mumbling to herself as she was still looking up the symbols on her scroll. Once she saw that they were out of the forest, she jumped off. Weiss walked as close as she could to Ruby without hindering her steps, and licked her hand whenever they were at the traffic lights.

"I swear, I know that I've seen that faded symbol recently…" Ruby sighed as she walked into the office and greeted her friends before walking towards her desk.

"Having some trouble, Ruby?" Nora leaned on the desk, sliding some doughnuts to her.

"Don't tell Jaune." Ruby rolled her eyes, receiving a laugh from Nora.

"Don't worry. Idiot's not here yet." The redhead noticed that Ruby let out a relieved sigh. "Did you get the guard… er… wolf because of him?" Nora looked at Weiss, being careful in case she says or does anything to upset the canine.

Ruby rubbed Weiss' head to let her know that Nora was friendly, and urged her to let Nora touch her head. "Well… Not exactly for that reason." The brunette smiled, seeing Weiss relaxing a bit and Nora enjoying touching Weiss' fur. "Weiss has been watching me for years. She's like my guardian angel."

"And I'm gonna guess that loverboy still can't get the hint?" Nora snorted and heard Weiss groaning. "Oops, sorry. Too hard?" She pulled her hand back.

Ruby chuckled. "No, she's upset with his dumb advances." She rubbed Weiss' side. "But as you can see, she's pretty tame. Just protective of me."

Nora nodded. "Well, I think Ozpin was gonna call you to his office in a bit. He called your sister and her partner after you left yesterday." She frowned and crossed her arms. "Did something happen with the White Fang?"

"If there was, I wouldn't know. All leads were dead ends." Ruby sighed as she shook her head. "But he was wondering why I thought the symbols at the pier were familiar."

"Familiar? Those faded splotches?" Nora raised a brow.

Just as Ruby was about to respond, her scroll went off and she saw a message from Ozpin.

Ozpin [9:48 am] Ruby. Can you come to my office?

"I'll tell you more later." Ruby got up and Weiss immediately followed her.

* * *

"How can I help you, Ozpin?" Ruby closed the door behind her and saw that Yang, Blake, Velvet, and Coco were also in the room with them. She frowned as she looked at Ozpin "What's going on?"

"You said before that the symbol looked familiar, did you not?" Ozpin folded his hands together as he leaned forward on the desk.

"They seemed familiar like I've seen them before recently, but I don't know where, or what the symbol means." Ruby nodded.

Ozpin looked at Velvet and nodded for her to start talking.

"I might need another day or two to be sure, but here are some symbols that I think could be the one you saw. I tried to fill in the blanks on some of the faded spots to figure out what it might have looked like." Velvet placed some papers with different symbols onto the table. "Do any of them seem familiar?"

There were general circles, triangles, stars... but what caught Ruby's eyes was the symbol of a snowflake.

"This…" She mumbled as she picked up the paper.

"Is there something about that particular picture?" Ozpin raised a brow as he took a sip of coffee from his cup.

Ruby frowned as she stared at the paper harder and sighed. "I thought this seemed familiar, but can't really be too sure." She put the paper down and scratched the back of her head. "Sorry for not being that helpful."

"Don't sell yourself short, Red." Coco took a step forward and ruffled her head. "If you think that snowflake seems familiar, then we'll look into it." She heard a low growl and looked down at the wolf. "Nice pooch." She smiled and moved away from Ruby as the wolf did a warning bite.

"Weiss!" Ruby knelt down and wrapped her arms around the wolf. "Sorry for her." She rubbed Weiss' sides to calm her down and Weiss gave an apologetic whine as she nuzzled against Ruby.

"Weiss?" Velvet raised a brow as she gathered the papers and looked towards them.

Ruby nodded as she rubbed Weiss' head. "Yeah, at first I called her Moonlight, but then found out her name's Weiss." She then stood up. "Is there something wrong?"

"No." Velvet shook her head and pulled out her scroll to look something up. "But I think I could most likely narrow what the symbol might be by lunch."

"Thank you, Velvet. Coco, I assume that you'll be assisting her?" Ozpin looked at the brunette.

"Of course." Coco huffed as she placed a hand on her hip as if it wasn't obvious. "I'll be making sure that she _eats_ and _drinks_ something as well." Velvet merely huffed with a blush and excused herself from the office.

Yang and Blake looked at each other and looked at Ozpin. "What should we do?"

"Be prepared to head out once Velvet figures out what the symbol might be." He then looked at Ruby. "You too. The three…" He heard the wolf huffing at him. " _Four_ of you will find out the origin of the symbol that Velvet finds."

"Isn't that excessive?" Yang raised a brow. "Three of us and a wolf just for one little symbol, whatever it means?"

Ozpin leaned back against his chair. "That's precisely why I need you four. The White Fang might be connected to this symbol. It's better to be safe than sorry, after all."

Ruby thought about it. He could be right. Did the White Fang just pick that port for no particular reason, or was it connected to them somehow? If it was connected to them, then was that the symbol of their supplier? Who are they? Either way, it's better to be safe, and check what the symbol means. Worst-case scenario would be that it could mean nothing and it was just a waste of time.

"Do we finish our normal reports until Velvet is done with her investigation?" Blake stepped up, not wanting to just sit around and do nothing.

"That's right. I'll call all of you back here later, once Velvet and Coco are done with their investigations." Ozpin nodded.

Ruby sighed as she rubbed Weiss' head and walked out the office, Yang and Blake soon following her.

"Hey, Ruby." Yang started as she walked up to her. "How have you been?" She scratched the back of her head, unsure of how to talk to her sister. She didn't know why, but she felt as if Ruby didn't want to talk to her for some reason. Was it because she babied her? Or was it another reason?

"I'm fine, Yang. You don't have to check in on me." Ruby looked away, unsure of how to talk to her either. She _wanted_ to talk to Yang, but most of the time it just felt like her sister was holding her hand and making sure that she wasn't getting into trouble, like she was some kid.

Blake and Weiss looked at each other before walking up to their respective partners.

"Hey, we're teamed up for this investigation this time. We should share what we know so far." The werecat started, wanting to ease some of the tension.

"I don't have anything to share." The brunette looked at them. "Since I think you two know what I know." Ruby pouted as she sat at her desk as Weiss placed a comforting paw onto her lap.

"Just that you have a feeling that you've seen that symbol thingy before." Yang crossed her arms as she leaned against the desk. "I'm not gonna ask where, since you were saying that you don't know exactly where and that it's just a feeling. I trust your gut."

"That's a lot of trust for something that might not be a lead." Ruby frowned as she leaned back against her chair.

"It's still something." Blake sat in a nearby chair. "I know that the White Fang will try to hide any connections they have. They must've hired new people recently for them to slip like this."

Ruby raised a brow and looked at Blake. "How would you know that?" She saw the look that Yang gave Blake and frowned. "Sorry, I know that you said that your father disbanded them when you were born…"

"No, it's understandable." Blake shook her head. "It's just a hunch, but I think Adam is disposing of whoever slips up, like that guy from last week."

The trio was quiet for a moment before Ruby decided to see if she could look up what kind of people the White Fang were before, with Blake's help. "Blake, Adam sounds like a ruthless guy from what you've been saying. Can you tell me more? If you're comfortable with it, I mean."

"I can tell you what he was like before, but like I said, I haven't heard much from him personally. Just… rumors." Blake frowned and felt her wife holding her hand to comfort her. "Anyways, he used to be a bright boy, wanting to help Weres and Faunus alike. He hated humans because they killed his parents when he was young. Sienna took him in, and he idolized her for as long as I've known him." She had a small smile at the fond memories, but then frowned at what came next. "When he told me that he and Sienna created a new White Fang and wanted me to join, you wouldn't believe how devastated I was about it."

Yang moved so that she was standing next to her wife and placed a hand onto her shoulder. "Ghira disbanded the White Fang 'cause Weres and Faunus were getting along with each other now. And a certain circle of humans came up with a compromise. Together, they made a sort of pact or something like that. Not too sure on the details about that, but he also didn't want Blake to grow up and possibly get caught in the crossfire."

"Sienna and Adam rounded a group of Faunus and a handful of Weres before disappearing. That was the last time I saw them." Blake shook her head. "Now as for the rumors… Apparently some human is sponsoring them or something now, because they've been receiving weapons and Dust. Normally, I wouldn't have thought anything of it, since you could buy weapons and Dust form any store with the right license. But the kind of Dust that they had was pure and unrefined." The werecat looked at Ruby. "The same ones that you get as you mine out Dust for the first time."

"You mean… the supplier is a Dust miner? Or someone that has access to weapons, and maybe they stole from the Dust miner?" Ruby frowned, thinking of what that could mean.

"I'm not really sure. I'm thinking the latter, because Adam despises humans and refuses to work with them. I wouldn't put it past them to resort to violence." Blake sighed and leaned against Yang.

Ruby wrote a few key words on a piece of paper to look it up when she had the time. ' _Adam. Sienna. Pure, unrefined Dust. Weapons. Dust miners.'_

The trio and wolf looked up when their scrolls went off. "Guess Velvet finished what she was investigating?"

"Most likely. Let's go so we can get this job done and over with." Yang stood up and walked with Blake, Weiss, and Ruby towards Ozpin's office.

"Welcome back. I'm sorry to call you back so soon, but I believe that Velvet has narrowed down our lead into a possible solution." Ozpin looked at Velvet, who nodded and stepped towards Ruby.

"Was this the symbol that you were thinking of?" Velvet showed Ruby a symbol of a snowflake.

Ruby's eyes widened as she recognized the symbol. Nicholas' scarf! Of course! That's what it was! "I think so! How did you find it so fast?"

Velvet smiled nervously as she scratched the back of her neck. "You said that the snowflake seemed more likely for the symbol, and you called your wolf 'Weiss,' which actually led me to this." They looked at the wolf, who tilted her head in confusion. "This is the Schnee Dust Company symbol. But the thing is…" She frowned. "They've been gone for about a dozen years."

Ruby blinked and slowly turned towards Weiss, then turned back to Velvet. "The Schnee Dust Company is gone? What… do you mean by that?"

Coco placed a hand on Velvet's shoulder and looked at Ruby. "What she means is that the company went under, and the family was… how to say this nicely…" The brunette grunted in frustration. "Y'know, forget it, there's no nice way of putting this. The family was killed."

"You've gotta be kidding." Yang frowned as she heard that. "How were they killed?"

"Most reports say that the father killed his family, but… it sounds like a cover up." Coco shook her head.

"Cover up?" Blake raised a brow and unconsciously glanced at Weiss, who looked uncomfortable.

"We don't know, since all the reports were text based." Coco shrugged. "Doesn't help that some descriptions of the wounds made it sound like he slashed at them as if he were an animal of some sort."

Ruby was staring at them, taking all of the information in, then a familiar face and voice rang in her head.

" _She's the only family that I have left."_

"Nicholas…" Ruby mumbled and all eyes turned to her.

"Did you say something, Ruby?" Ozpin was curious to know if she had an idea.

"Uhm…" Ruby shook her head. "There's something that I wanna check back at home. Can you text the details of what we found to me later? Or uh…" She looked at Yang. "Can you fill me in? I _really_ need to go home now."

Ozpin frowned as he looked at Ruby and nodded. "Very well. Yang and Blake will fill you in later. Stay safe on the way home, Ruby."

"I'm sorry. And thank you!" With that, Ruby ran out of the room with Weiss following close behind her.

"Velvet." Ozpin looked at the werebunny. "Please, tell us more about the Schnee Dust company and the family's death. I have a feeling that this case isn't what it seems anymore."

Little did they know, Ruby was being followed by an orange haired man. "Little red has left the office and is walking down the street." He whispered into his earpiece.

_"Is she alone?"_

"No." He frowned when he ducked behind a building. "The wolf is still with her."

_"Keep following from a distance, but don't let the wolf know, Roman."_

"Roger, Cinder."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: And here's the fifth chapter. Sorry for the wait, but hope that y'all enjoyed! See y'all in the next chapter!


	7. Realization

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Warning. There's reference to child abuse in this chapter.

Ruby panted as she ran towards her home with Weiss by her side. She didn't want to believe it, but the fact that the Schnee snowflake symbol and Nicholas were possibly connected with each other? She knew that something was weird about him, but couldn't figure out what. Was he connected with the White Fang? Did that also mean…

Weiss whined and nudged against Ruby's side, worried about what she was thinking.

"Weiss…" Ruby slowly turned towards the wolf. "You're… You're on my side, right…? You've been protecting me for so long…" Tears started to fall from her eyes. "You… You wouldn't lie to me… Right…?"

Weiss' ears folded back as she moved closer to Ruby. She didn't like the scared, hurt, and worried look on the brunette, and moved close. She nuzzled against her head and wrapped a paw around her with a small whimper.

"Thank you…" Ruby wrapped her arms around Weiss. "B-But your grandfather… Can we trust him?" She frowned. "C-Can I really trust you…? Even though you've never shown me your human or Were forms…?"

Weiss whimpered again as she nuzzled more onto Ruby and pulled back, licking her tears away, then started nipping at her shirt.

"What is it?" Ruby sniffed and wiped the slobber off her face.

Weiss stood up and started walking, stopping when she was a few feet away as she looked back at Ruby. It was almost as if she were asking her to follow.

"Do… you want me to follow you?" Ruby raised a brow. Did this mean that Weiss was going to show her where she lived with Nicholas? Was this a trap set by the wolf? She trusted Weiss with all her heart, but she didn't know _why_. Even the thought of Weiss tricking her and being part of the White Fang broke her heart. The brunette quickly shook that thought out of her head and stood up, following after Weiss.

If there are any answers to be found, it'll be with Weiss.

* * *

Blake held Yang back as Velvet and Coco explained what happened to the Schnee family.

"Blake, why are you holding me back? We need to find Ruby!" Yang growled as she looked at her wife.

"Yang, I think Ruby will be fine. It's _Weiss_ that we have to worry about." Blake frowned as she said that. She didn't want to out a fellow Were like this, but that look that the wolf was giving as they were talking about the Schnee Dust Company and the attacks didn't seem natural.

"What about her?" Yang gritted her teeth. "Could've been a family dog that shared the same name or something, right? The reports say that Weiss is _dead,_ after all!"

Velvet looked at Coco, then at Blake. "Blake, that wolf…" She started, and she saw Blake looking up at her with a small nod.

"What is it?" Yang growled, not wanting to be the last to understand what's going on. Especially not with her wife. "What about the wolf?"

Blake sighed and looked at Yang and Ozpin. "Weiss is a Were." She paused for a moment to look at everyone's faces. "I thought about it since we met, but she genuinely seemed to care for Ruby. Her reaction to when Velvet was giving the report about the SDC… That's what I'm worried about."

"According to the reports that I've found on the Schnee family, Willow Schnee died giving birth. Jacques Schnee killed his two daughters, Winter and Weiss, while his father-in-law, Nicholas, was out of town." Velvet frowned. "I can try to see if there are any old photos relevant to that case. However, since it happened about twelve years ago, I'm not sure what I'll find." She then looked at Blake. "And if Weiss really is a Were, we need to ask her what kind of connection she has with the White Fang."

Yang didn't like the sound of this and called Ruby on her scroll. "Come on, Rubes… Pick up…" She grumbled and nearly threw her scroll in frustration when she went to voicemail.

"Yang, calm down." Blake held her wife's arm then looked at Ozpin. "I'll go with Yang to find Ruby and see if she can convince Weiss to talk to us."

Ozpin nodded. "Stay safe. Velvet and Coco, I need you two to find out more about the SDC."

"Roger." They all saluted and left the office.

Ozpin sighed as he leaned back against his chair and closed his eyes. "This has gotten quite complicated."

* * *

Weiss led Ruby to an old, wooden two-story house deep in the forest and lightly scratched the door. After a few minutes, a short, bald man opened the door to see who was at the door.

"Yes, how may I—" He paused, seeing the wolf. "Weiss? Welcome home, Snowflake!" The man rubbed Weiss' head and looked up. "Is this your friend, Ruby?"

Ruby blinked and nodded slowly. "Uh… Who are you? How do you know Weiss?"

"My apologies. My name is Klein. I'm Nicholas and Weiss' butler." Klein smiled as he opened the door and stood to the side to allow Ruby inside. "Would you like to come inside?"

"Is Nicholas inside?" Ruby hesitantly stepped into the house, looking at how much nicer it looked on the inside compared to the outside.

She was led to the living room, where there were two small, beige couches facing each other and a brown coffee table between them. The light blue curtains were drawn to allow sunlight to fill the room. The walls were lined with bookshelves filled with books. On one otherwise empty shelf, there was a picture of a woman holding a baby, and a small five-year-old child next to her.

Ruby stopped looking around when she felt Weiss nudging her side and walked towards the couch.

"May I hang your cloak? Would you like something to drink? Water? Coffee? Tea? Hot chocolate?" Klein offered with a small smile. "Nicholas should be here shortly. He's… on a walk."

"Er, no. This cloak is special. Thanks, and hot chocolate if it's not too much trouble." Ruby smiled as she sat on the couch and Weiss jumped up with her, laying on her lap. "I didn't think that you'd be a lap dog in your own home. You didn't do this before back at my house." She laughed.

"I see that Snowflake loves you." Klein chuckled as he turned the corner into the kitchen. Ruby could hear him grabbing cups as she leaned back against the couch, running her hands idly through Weiss' fur.

A few minutes later, Klein came back with a cup of hot chocolate. "One hot chocolate for our guest." He smiled.

"Thank you, Klein." Ruby smiled as she carefully picked up the cup and tentatively took a sip, enjoying the chocolatey goodness. "This is good."

"I'm glad that you enjoy it." Klein gave her a kind smile before he turned towards the door, hearing it open. "Nicholas is back. I'll notify him of your arrival."

Ruby nodded as she watched Klein leave to greet Nicholas. She placed the cup down and gently moved Weiss off her so she could stand up as the old man walked into the room.

"It's nice to see you, Ruby. How may I help you?" Nicholas gave Klein his jacket and adjusted his scarf as he sat across from Ruby.

"I uh…" Ruby thought about it. How was she supposed to go about this now? She wanted answers, sure. But if he was with the White Fang, she didn't really have a way to defend herself. All she knew was that she didn't want it to be true. The brunette looked at Weiss, then back at Nicholas. _Band-Aid approach…_ "Uhm… what happened to the SDC?"

Nicholas frowned. "What about the SDC?"

"Is it true that it went under and…" Ruby couldn't bring herself to ask the second question. Not with Weiss here.

The old man sighed as he folded his hands together. "Yes, it is true. It was my fault for leaving it to my son-in-law while I left to visit my wife's grave. A week was all it took for it to be a disaster."

"A… week…? So everything that happened… It was all within a week?" Ruby fell back onto the couch and Weiss placed a paw onto her lap with a small whimper. "Does… Weiss know…?" She looked at the wolf and rubbed her head.

Weiss tilted her head and Ruby looked at Nicholas, who sighed. "Weiss… I think she blocked it out of her memory." He frowned and shook his head. "I don't know."

"Ok…" Ruby frowned, wanting to ask more, but she didn't want to distress Weiss. "What do you know of the White Fang?"

"What about those bastards?" Nicholas gritted his teeth.

Ruby raised a brow and watched him carefully. From his posture, she could tell that mentioning the name annoyed him. Was it safe to assume that he didn't get along with them? "I came here today to ask about the connections between the SDC and the White Fang." She leaned forward and looked at him. "Last week, there was a body found at the pier. There were faded symbols of the SDC on a few containers. Normally, we wouldn't think anything of it because of how faded it was, but we had experts look up the symbol, and I remembered that you had the same symbol on your scarf."

Nicholas looked at his scarf and chuckled. "And you wanted to make sure that I wasn't an ally of the White Fang?" He then stood up. "I assure you that I am not. I want nothing to do with them. Not after…" The old man sighed as he pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Did it have something to do with your son-in-law?" Ruby tried to get answers, but she also didn't want to upset the old man anymore than he was.

"Unfortunately, it does." He gritted his teeth. Weiss whined and jumped off the couch.

"Ah! Weiss!" Ruby called for her, but the wolf disappeared around the corner.

Nicholas frowned as he watched Weiss walk away and shook his head. "Is there anything that you'd like to know about the SDC and the White Fang? I'll try to cooperate as much as I can. But in return…" He looked at Ruby seriously. "Please. Take care of Weiss."

"Uh…?" Ruby blinked. Now that she thought about it, has she been taking care of Weiss? She frowned as she thought back. Every time, it was _Weiss_ that was taking care of _her_. Not the other way around. But she wasn't one to back down from a promise. She looked up at Nicholas with the same serious expression. "I'll do my best."

"Thank you." Nicholas smiled and leaned back a bit, cracking his shoulders. "What would you like to know? It has been twelve years, give or take, but I'll try to recall as much as I can."

"Right, uhm…" Ruby pulled out her scroll to voice record what was being said. "How did the White Fang and SDC come in contact?"

Nicholas sighed deeply. "That, I'm afraid, I don't know. I recall going back to my home, and seeing a horrible sight." There was a pause before he continued. "Jacques was beating Weiss. Saying it was her fault a deal went wrong or something like that."

"How old was Weiss?" Ruby bit her lip, knowing that being upset about this wouldn't do anything to help. But that didn't stop her from wondering where Weiss went.

"This was on her eleventh birthday." Nicholas rubbed the bridge of his nose. "I don't know what happened to cause him to snap, but I do remember the disappointment and hatred I felt for him clear as day."

Ruby gritted her teeth and decided to change the topic. It wasn't right for her to learn of Weiss' past like this. "I'm sorry to hear that."

"It's all in the past, though it may still be haunting us. Considering how your investigation with the White Fang caused you to believe that the SDC had a connection with them." Nicholas shook his head.

"So you don't know _anything_? Like at all?" Ruby questioned, unsure if he was hiding something or because of something else.

Nicholas frowned and rubbed his head. "If there's any connection still, it's due to Jacques. That I know of, they have never come into contact with Weiss or myself in the past twelve years." He looked at Klein, asking for a cup of tea before turning back towards Ruby. "I know that I have said that Weiss has been going off on her own lately, but I highly doubt that she'd have a connection with the White Fang. Considering how most of the time, she's been spending it with you. I also don't think that he had papers or any evidence to suggest that they were connected as well."

"Right…" There were a few times when Weiss wasn't by Ruby's side, but could she really be in contact with anyone for just a few minutes at a time while she was away? Weiss definitely had more than enough time to exchange a few words to some informant, if she was part of the White Fang. But was she really though? Shaking that thought out of her head, she looked at Nicholas. "Can I see where you lived before?" She suggested, thinking that Ozpin and the others could find something that he missed. "Maybe we can find something."

"I'm afraid that is impossible." Nicholas stated quickly as he shook his head. "Our home, up in Atlas, was burnt down."

Ruby's eyes widened as she heard that. "So… that's why you live here now?"

"That, and Weiss doesn't remember what happened. At least I don't think she does." Nicholas sighed. "As far as I know, she won't talk about it."

"Talk?" Ruby raised a brow. "Human words talk? Or uh…" She stopped recording since she didn't feel like it was necessary to the case. "Nicholas, Weiss is a wolf. Well, I don't know if she knows that I know that she's a Were. I mean, she might know, since I've asked her to show me her other forms before, and have asked her to talk to me, but she just gives me this sad puppy dog look, and with her being a wolf it's really adorable and I…" She blushed as she looked down at her lap and clutched her jeans. "S-Sorry, I have a bad habit of rambling sometimes."

Nicholas chuckled and shook his head. "It's alright, but you're right. As far as I know, she doesn't change out of her wolf form. Though if it's a full or new moon, I don't know where she goes." He frowned. "I have never seen her during those times."

"Is… she scared of her human or Were form?" Ruby frowned.

Nicholas sighed as he let the question sink in before speaking. "I—" There was a crash and the old man stopped his train of thought to look towards the kitchen.

"Nicholas!" Klein stumbled into the room. "It's the White Fang!"

"What?!" Nicholas growled as he stood up. "How did they-?" He looked at Ruby, who looked just as shocked as he did, before looking back at Klein. He took a deep breath and sniffed the air before growling. " _Wolfsbane_."

"Wolfsbane? Isn't that bad for Werewolves?" Ruby stood up and reached into her pocket for her knife.

"For most, yes. But for me, it just gives me a headache. I don't know about Weiss, but considering she's not here…" He frowned with worry.

Ruby's eyes widened as she pulled her knife out, ready to strike. _So he's a Were too? I'll have to ask about it later._ "Can you smell her out? I'll go get her!"

"What? Ruby, it's too dangerous for you! Have Klein lead you out of here!" Nicholas growled, not wanting something to happen to her.

"I'm a detective! I can take care of myself!" Ruby huffed and glanced towards the window.

"I know that you'll be fine, but I need you to find Weiss!" Nicholas hissed as he held his head and looked at Klein. "Klein! Get Ruby out of here and find Weiss!"

"Yes, sir!" Klein nodded and took Ruby's hand. "Come this way!"

"But! Nicholas!" Ruby stumbled after the butler as she watched Nicholas grow taller and furrier. Oh. So that's why… Shaking her head, she looked forward so she didn't trip, and ran alongside Klein. "Do you know where Weiss is?"

"I'm afraid I don't. I think I saw her going towards her old room." Klein looked down the hall and blinked as Ruby sped past him in the direction he was leading her. "Ruby, wait!" He was about to run towards her, but fell unconscious and fell to the ground with a soft thud.

"Weiss!" Ruby refused to listen to Klein and wanted to find her wolf as soon as possible. "Wei—" She shut her mouth. The White Fang was here. Most were very likely Faunus and Weres from what Blake told her. She shouldn't have been yelling like that. Why were they here in the first place? Nicholas said that he wasn't connected to them, which meant… "Weiss…? Are you part of the White Fang…?"

"Hmm. In a way, she is. But really, it's her good o' daddy." A voice snickered behind her.

Ruby bit her lip to contain her scream and spun on her heel, getting into a fighting stance upon seeing a man with orange hair and a bowler hat covering his eyes. He grunted in disgust as he saw that there was a speck of blood on his white coat. "Ugh. I just got this cleaned."

"Who…?" Ruby stayed on guard. Where was Klein? And Nicholas? Her eyes widened as a sudden dread creeped over her. Was that…?

"Hmm? Oh, don't worry about that old butler. Since he's human, we spared him." The man snickered. "That old Werewolf though. That's a different story."

"What did you do to them?!" Ruby growled, hoping that Weiss would hear them and come to her side.

"Anyone who is part of the Schnee family won't be harmed, as part of our deal." He then grinned, a faint glow coming from his green eyes. "People that aren't though…"

Ruby grunted as she side stepped his punch and yelped when she felt his cane hook her leg. She fell quick and hard onto her back with a grunt. She glared up at him and rolled to her side as he slammed his foot down inches from her head. The brunette quickly jumped onto her feet and stayed low to the ground as she watched him making his moves.

The man grinned as he swung his cane smugly and felt his scroll vibrating. He grunted as he checked it and sighed. "Hate to leave when things are getting so good between us, but…" He cracked his neck as his eyes started to glow yellow and his voice sounded much more deep, almost demonic like. "A more… interesting game came up."

"W-Wha—" Ruby barely had time to jump back when the man swung at her with some sort of claws where he had hands before. Wait. Claws? "You're a Were?! Wait, that Wolfsbane-"

"Only a special dosage for dear grandpapa wolf and our little heir." The man snickered as he fully turned into an orange fox and continued to slash at Ruby, who barely dodged it by a few inches. "Slippery little rat, aren't ya'? Hold still so this game can be more fun!"

Ruby merely grunted as she tried to figure out what he meant. What game? Why were they going after her? How did they even know where she was? Where was Weiss?!

The Werefox grunted, then smirked when an idea came to mind. "Oh hello, Snow Princess. It's nice to see you again."

Ruby made the mistake of glancing behind her, and barely reacted in time to have her side cut open. "UGH!"

"Tch, even then you have good reflexes." The Werefox growled as he was about to slash at Ruby again, but gasped in pain. "You… came sooner than planned…" He coughed, blood dripping from his mouth.

Ruby watched as he fell in front of her with a puddle of blood slowly forming under him. She slowly looked up and saw a snow-white Werewolf growling as she licked the blood off her claws. "W-Weiss…?"

The Werewolf got onto all fours and leaned over Ruby, licking her cheek and giving a soft whine as she raised her paw towards Ruby's side. She whimpered as she caressed Ruby's cheek and shook as she was about to take Ruby into her arms, but felt something shock her from behind and fell forward.

"Weiss!" Ruby groaned in pain as she wrapped her arms around the wolf to catch her, not realizing that she'd be affected by some of the shock as well. She glanced up to see blurred figures leaning over them.

"This will be fun. Good job, Roman. Hell of an actor. That's our Fox."

"Shut up. It still hurt being slashed!" Roman grunted. "Take Little Red, Cinder. She's the Snow Princess' weakness. This just confirmed it."

Cinder leaned over Ruby with a grin. "Thank you, Little Red. We've been looking for these two for a while now. We'll be sure to _thank_ you for helping us."

Then everything went dark.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: And here we are with the next chapter! Let it be known that writing while not 100% mentally or physically isn't ideal. See y'all in the next chapter!


	8. Stupid Plan

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Warning. Jaune makes a reappearance and not in a good way. I did label it as "Douche Attack" and "End Douche Attack" so you can skip that part. Hope that you enjoy the chap ignoring that part.

"Mmm…" Ruby stirred awake and groaned as she tried to move to rub her eyes, only to realize that she couldn't. "Wh-Wha..?" The brunette blinked as she turned and saw that she was laying on her side, and that her wrists were bound behind her back with duct tape. "What the hell…?" She grumbled and took in her surroundings. She was in a small room, far away from the door. There was a chair by the wall and a small window that looked barred up. Other than that, there wasn't anything else in this empty room.

Ruby rolled over as much as she could and winced. She looked down to see that her side was wrapped up. ' _Well at least they're kind enough to treat my wound, but it still hurts like he-… Wait! Where's Weiss?!'_ She struggled to sit up and groaned as she was finally able to.

The door opened then, revealing a raven-haired woman with hair covering the left side of her face. "Did Little Red finally wake up?"

"Ngh… Who are you? What did you do with Weiss?!" Ruby growled, struggling to stand.

"That dumb Werewolf?" The woman hummed, pretending to think as she walked into the room, then grinned as she kicked Ruby to fall back onto the floor. "Don't worry. Once we're through with you, everything will be blamed on her."

' _Blame? What are they gonna do to her?!'_ Ruby glared at the woman as she leaned back against the wall. "What are you going to do to me?" She growled, testing the ropes binding her arms. So far, some of the White Fang she had come across were talkative. Maybe she could figure out something if she got them to talk too.

"Shouldn't you be more worried about your dumb Werewolf?" The woman chuckled as she strode towards Ruby, running a finger down her cheek until it was under her chin. She tilted Ruby's face up to look at her and smiled seeing the anger and hatred within the brunette's eyes. "That's a good look on you. Too bad we won't see it for long." She hummed sweetly.

"Cinder. Dumb mutt's awake. Stop toying with her food and get ready." Ruby recognized him as the Werefox that slashed her before and glared at him.

"Alright, Roman." Cinder then kicked Ruby in the gut. "The less she knows." She grunted as she kicked Ruby again, this time in the head. "The better."

"You'll… pay…" Ruby groaned as she fell unconscious.

* * *

When Ruby woke up again, she heard dull thuds. Almost like someone punching a heavy punching bag. She opened her eyes for a moment and thought that she saw Yang punching the punching bag that she often used for training before closing her eyes again. Wait a second. The brunette snapped her eyes open and saw four people surrounding a white Werewolf, taking turns kicking it.

One she recognized as the woman that knocked her out earlier, another was the man that slashed at her side. The other two, she didn't recognize. One was a short woman that had long black hair on one side of her head, with pink on the other side. As for the other, she couldn't see his face as he had a white hood covering his hair and wore some sort of mask to conceal his face. The only thing that she could tell from that person was that they were tall and muscular; most likely the one that carried her here.

She was about to say something, but found herself still bound from the duct tape from earlier and leaning against the wall.

"Hey, don't beat the stupid mutt too much. We need to use her as a scapegoat. Not be seen like she tried to save Little Red." Cinder warned.

"With how much trouble she gave us tracking her and her grandfather down?" Roman grunted as he gave one last kick to the wolf. "Besides, _who_ was the one that knocked out Little Red?"

 _Tracking? So they were after Weiss and Nicholas? But why do they need…_ Ruby's eyes widened in realization as she remembered what Roman said before. _I'm Weiss' weakness._

She looked up to see a pink and black haired woman looking at her, then tapping Roman's shoulder to get his attention. "What is it, Neo?" Roman hummed, then looked towards Ruby with a grin. "Ah. I see that Little Red is awake now."

"Fuck… you…" Ruby growled and glared at them "Get away from Weiss! What did she do to you?!"

"What did she do?" Roman laughed. "She hid from us after killing dear o' daddy."

Ruby's eyes widened. Wait, that's not what the reports that Velvet found said… right? "She didn't kill him. He… He's the one that killed his family."

Roman and Cinder merely laughed as Neo silently giggled. "Oh, this poor child. She doesn't know anything, now does she? Are you _really_ the daughter of Summer Rose?" Ruby winced at the accusation. Sadly, it only spurred them on to berating her. "I'm pretty sure that the great Summer Rose would've figured out what we were planning from that first conversation you conveniently happened to hear."

"First con… You mean this was a trap this entire time?!" Ruby's eyes widened. Thinking about it now... it made sense. She got that information too easily when no one else could get anything. Did that mean that they baited her into looking for Weiss and Nicholas for them?

"We ought to thank you, Little Red." Roman chuckled as he twirled his cane and turned as he whacked Weiss, who grunted as it struck her on the head. "We didn't think that planting some faded SDC symbols would allow you to lead us to the Snow Princess and Grandpapa Wolf."

Ruby stared blankly at them. It was her fault that they were in this situation. It was her fault for looking so hard into it. It was her fault for not calling for backup when the White Fang attacked Nicholas. Tears fell from her eyes as the realization set in. It was her fault. She wanted to be a hero, yet here she was. A failure.

The brunette looked up through her blurry eyes to see Weiss growling at them and trying to move, but couldn't because of how she was bound.

"Weiss…" Ruby cried as she closed her eyes and looked away. How could she face her after this? It was her fault that she was in this mess. "I'm so sorry…"

Weiss merely growled in response, huffing and struggling more to get to Ruby.

"Wow. Feisty little furball, ain't ya?" Roman laughed as he kicked her. "Little Red here betrayed you. Lead us straight to you. She brought us back together. She didn't care for you at all."

Ruby's eyes widened as he said that. Was that true? That she didn't care for Weiss? No. It wasn't! Just as the brunette lifted her head, she saw Weiss biting Roman's leg.

"Argh! Fangs off, mutt!" Roman cried in pain as he whacked Weiss' head with his cane again.

Weiss just growled and bit harder until she bit his leg clean off, flinging it aside. Roman screamed in agony as Ruby shivered hearing Weiss speak for the first time. " _Ruby did no such thing! She didn't know anything about me or the SDC! She didn't betray me! She cares for me. As I do for her._ "

"Weiss…" Ruby felt touched that Weiss thought so highly of her. What was she doing self-deprecating herself when Weiss was trying to fight back?

"A Were and a human should never get along! Same with Faunus!" The hooded figure growled as he punched Weiss and continued to do so.

"Stop it…" Ruby gritted her teeth. _No one is going to hurt my wolf anymore._

"What was that?" Cinder raised a brow, amused that Ruby was struggling against her binds.

" _Hey mum? If we somehow had our arms tied behind our backs, how do we get out of it?"_

" _It depends on what you're tied with, but first, you'd want to get your arms in front of you."_

Ruby glared at everyone in the room and squirmed as she jumped and quickly swung her arms under her legs so that they were in front of her. She closed her eyes as she remembered watching the motions that her mother showed her.

" _Then raise your arms above your head. In one fluid motion, bring your arms down, elbows apart. It's a sharp and quick motion and it'll hurt your wrists, but at least you'll be free. Sadly this only works for duct tape and certain zip ties, and if you want to get out of it fast. If you have time to spare, and no one's watching you, you could use your shoelaces to help saw through." Summer frowned. "Why do you want to know?"_

" _I just wanna know! It's good to know these survival things, right?" Ruby grinned. "Right, mum?"_

"Right, mum…?" Ruby mumbled as she raised her arms above her head and brought them down quickly, grunting as she ripped the duct tape and rubbing her wrists. It hurt, but knowing how much pain Weiss was in hurt more. "You wanted me? Well here I am! Come and get me!"

"You want to take us all on? Alright then." Cinder looked at the hooded figure before glancing at Roman, rolling her eyes. "Leave the useless Were aside. Noodle Arms, you can take on Little Red, right?"

"Oh, I've been waiting for this for a long time." He smirked as he cracked his knuckles before he realized what Cinder called him. "And don't call me that!"

"Whatever, Noodle Arms." Cinder rolled her eyes and looked at the two Werefoxes on the ground. "Until Roman stops screaming like a little girl, Neo and I will take the Snow Princess." She looked at Neo, who just glared back at her and shook her head. "Ok fine, tend to your boyfriend. I don't care." The raven-haired woman rolled her eyes again and smirked at Weiss. "Bring it on, wolfie."

* * *

Ruby narrowed her eyes as she brought her fists in front of her chest defensively, remembering the few lessons that Yang gave her before transferring away.

The masked, hooded figure just smirked and got into the same position before lunging towards Ruby.

The brunette watched him carefully and side stepped the first punch and took a step back to avoid the hook that came right after. She watched his movements and moved quickly to dodge his attacks. Once she got his rhythm down, she smirked and crouched low when he tried to punch her again.

"Too slow!" She taunted as she quickly jumped up and head butted the man's head. His mask fell off and her eyes widened when she saw who it was underneath. "Jaune?!"

"Tch. So you _can_ defend yourself." Jaune wiped the blood off his nose, then reached into his pocket.

Ruby charged at him and rammed her shoulder into his stomach, knocking him back. "What are you doing with the White Fang, Jaune?!"

"Someone like _you_ wouldn't understand!" Jaune growled as he pulled out two vials from his pocket. One was dark red and the other a sickly blue. He opened the red vial and drank it before Ruby could react, and threw the blue one by her feet.

=-=Douche Attack=-=

"W-Wha…?" Ruby stumbled when she smelt something sweet and quickly covered her mouth. "What did you throw at me?!" She glared at Jaune and her eyes widened when he seemed _faster_ than earlier. The brunette brought her arms up to guard a punch when she couldn't force her legs to move in time to dodge. She grunted in pain as her back hit a pillar, and looked up at Jaune in fear, seeing him over her already. "Ngh… W-What did you do…?!" Why was she suddenly feeling so weak too? She was just beating his ass a few seconds ago! Why now of all times, she couldn't fight him off? What was in that vial that he threw at her?!

Jaune just smirked at Ruby and grabbed her wrists, leaning in. "I've always been in love with you, Ruby. Why won't you give me a chance?" He kissed her cheek, trailing it to her neck.

Ruby struggled to push him off. "J-Jaune! Stop it! I told you that I don't see you in _that_ way!" Jaune merely chuckled and continued to kiss her neck. "Jaune!"

"Seems like that vial is doing wonders." He smirked when he saw how much she was struggling. "Why do you struggle so much? I told you that I'd do _anything_ for you!" Jaune growled as he stared into Ruby's fearful eyes. "I gave you all my _love,_ and yet you still don't see how much I _love_ you?" He then gave a sickening smirk. "What's wrong with you? It's your fault that the old man and butler were hurt."

"W-Wha…?" Ruby stopped struggling and looked up at Jaune. "What are you…" She then remembered Roman saying that they wouldn't hurt anyone related to the Schnees. "You're lying!"

"It's _your_ fault that they're hurt, Ruby! Even your little wolf, too." Jaune squeezed tighter against her wrists and pressed his body into hers. "You're mine. I'm the perfect guy for you." He kissed her forehead, trailing it down to her lips, forcing it open to slip his tongue in.

Ruby tried to scream but she couldn't. Tears fell from her eyes as she felt Jaune slipping his hand under her shirt. She begged in her mind for someone to help while struggling against him. His mouth never left hers as he roughly groped her breasts. _Someone. Please… Weiss._

"GAH!" Jaune let out a yell as he was punched aside. Ruby gasped desperately for breath when she felt Jaune's uncomfortable weight finally off her. The brunette fell to her knees and coughed, looking up in a haze.

=-=End Douche Attack=-=

There she saw her Werewolf standing in front of her, and Jaune glaring at her angrily. "Why must you interfere with me every single time?! She would've been _mine_ if it weren't for you!" He charged in a blind rage and Weiss growled as she slashed at Jaune. He gasped in pain, holding a hand to his chest, and continued forward. "Mine… she's _mine_ …"

Weiss grabbed him and threw him away like a mere plaything, some more vials and his gun dropping from his pockets. Once he hit the wall, she glanced back and sighed in relief, seeing that Ruby was alright.

"Thanks, Weiss." Ruby smiled and was about to get up. Time stopped as she saw a silver spear inches away from her face, impaled in the Werewolf. "WEISS!" The Werewolf hunched forward, grasping her side in pain.

"Too bad. She should've been paying more attention to me than you." Cinder rolled her eyes as she strode by, kicking Jaune down and knocking him out. "Seems like I have to finish this off myself. Thank you, Little Red. You've been proving useful in killing this Werewolf."

"N-No… We-Weiss…!" Ruby shook as she cupped Weiss's face. The Werewolf huffed and licked Ruby's cheek to calm her down as much as she could. "You're _not_ alright! Weiss!"

Weiss huffed again and wrapped an arm around Ruby's waist, jumping away just before another spear could impale them both.

"Weiss!" Ruby moved her hands over Weiss' wound. "D-Don't move so much, you'll bleed to death!"

Weiss didn't care as long as Ruby was alright, and stood tall against Cinder. "Ruby…" Ruby leaned against Weiss' good side, her arms wrapped around her Werewolf with a whimper. "Watch out… for the Werefoxes. I don't know if I can take all three…"

"Wha?" Ruby heard faint steps running towards her and pushed Weiss out of the way, being careful not to aggravate her wound, and pulled out her knife. She saw the woman Roman called "Neo" glaring at her. Or rather, at Weiss. "I'm not letting you touch her!"

"Cute." Cinder looked at Neo. "Is your boyfriend alright now, or do I have to worry about you running off to protect him?"

Neo gave Cinder a mock glare and pulled out her umbrella, twirling it as Roman did.

Ruby moved in front of Weiss, feeling her shaking. She glanced back at the Werewolf before concentrating on Cinder and Neo. ' _Weiss isn't going to last much longer. I need to finish this_ now _before it's too late! But how?!'_ She looked around their surroundings and saw some dust containers in the far corners. She glanced around as an idea formed in her head, and saw Jaune's gun laying not too far from her. The brunette looked at Weiss, kissing her head. "I'll be right back."

Weiss huffed weakly as she looked up at Ruby and saw her stumbling away. "R-Ruby…"

"Think you can take us both on?" Cinder taunted. "You're drugged up by Noodle Arm's dust experiment. Whatever you do, it's useless."

"You think it's useless… but I can still run!" Ruby ran quickly towards the gun and gritted her teeth as Neo swiftly caught up to her.

Weiss's protective instincts kicked in and she ran after Neo, grabbing her legs as they both fell onto the ground. Neo scratched at Weiss as the Werewolf bit her.

Ruby tried to not be too distracted by them and grabbed the gun, quickly checking if it was loaded, and smiled when it was. She turned and saw Neo silently shrieking in pain as Cinder was about to throw another silver spear. "Weiss!" Ruby quickly shot at Cinder's hand so she dropped the spear.

"You little shit." Cinder growled and grabbed her own gun, aiming it at Ruby. Weiss saw what Cinder was doing and threw Neo at her in an attempt to stop her. In a panic, the Werefox grabbed and pulled out the spear that was still stuck in the Werewolf as she was thrown. Weiss groaned in pain and fell to the floor, one paw grasping her side to stop the bleeding.

"Weiss!" Ruby shouted in fear but quickly snapped out of it, running towards her Werewolf. She dropped the gun as she placed her hands over the wound. "Weiss! Stay with me! Weiss!"

Neo threw the spear away, blowing onto her hands to stop the burning, and glared at Cinder who merely chuckled.

"Silver mixed with some wolfsbane really hurts you, doesn't it?" She strode towards Ruby, raising her spear high. Weiss growled at Cinder. "Now now. We're friends, aren't we? Well, except Little Red."

"We'd never be friends with _you_." Ruby growled as she glared at Cinder.

"Was I asking _you_?" Cinder grabbed Ruby by the throat and raised her high. "I believe the answer was 'no,' so stay out of this." She then tossed Ruby aside.

Weiss scrambled to her feet to chase after Ruby, but only fell back down when Neo kicked her side.

"Seems like someone's pissed off that you bit off her boyfriend's leg." Cinder snickered and pointed her spear back at Weiss. "Now where was I? Oh right, we were supposed to make this look like a cover up, but thanks to stupid Noodle Arm, that plan's down the drain." She sighed as she shook her head. But an idea came to her mind as she picked up the gun that Ruby dropped. "But… we could make it look like you and Little Red murdered each other."

"Don't touch her!" Ruby ran towards them and stumbled forward when something slashed at her back. She looked back to see a pissed off Roman as a Werefox. He swiftly kicked her towards the ground. "Ack!"

"Ruby!" Weiss was about to get up to catch Ruby, but was knocked down by Neo, who simply glared at her.

Roman used his cane to hold himself up as he cracked his paw. "You two are so much trouble. It's making me wonder if this is even worth it anymore." He growled.

"Hold her up so I can shoot her, Roman." Cinder rolled her eyes.

"So you can shoot me too? No way!" Roman growled, irritated from his lost leg and how absolutely nothing was going according to plan so far. He limped towards Ruby and glared her down. "I'm going to make that Snow Princess suffer by watching her Little Red get torn to shreds."

Ruby glanced at Cinder and at Weiss before looking back up at Roman. "Catch me if you can, furball!" She quickly got up and did her best to avoid both Cinder and Roman's attacks. From the corner of her eyes, she saw Weiss lift Neo up over her head and toss her towards Roman. She smirked at the good timing, thankful that she was able to coax Roman close enough to Cinder for them to all crash into one another.

In the middle of the chaos, Ruby was about to steal the gun back from Cinder, but her eyes widened when she saw Jaune grabbing the gun instead and pointing it straight at her. "J-Jaune…?"

"Mine…" He mumbled, eyes crazed as he growled. "Mine… Mine…! Ruby's mine!"

Ruby felt a chill going down her spine, hearing him talk like that. She backed away from him as quickly as she could. "J-Jaune, why are you doing this?"

"Mine… You're mine! If I can't have you… no one will!" Jaune was about to shoot Ruby, then saw Weiss fighting with Neo behind her. "That thing… Because of that _thing_!"

"Jaune! No!" Ruby jumped in front of him as he shot the gun.

Weiss looked up to see Ruby stumbling back as she was shot on the shoulder. Shocked and enraged, she didn't care what happened to herself or anyone after that. She needed to know Ruby was safe! The Werewolf rushed towards Ruby and held her close, whimpering as she licked her face.

"I-I'm… ngh... F-fine…" Ruby tried to reassure the Werewolf, but knew she was failing, seeing the scared look in her eyes. "Weiss…" She leaned onto her, whispering into her ear. "M-Make Jaune blow up the Dust. It should take all of us."

Weiss glanced at the Dust containers and nodded. She only hoped that Neo and Roman didn't hear Ruby's plan as she carried her carefully in her arms.

"You… You did this. You monster!" Jaune growled as he aimed his gun at Weiss and shot at her.

Weiss did her best to cover Ruby as she maneuvered towards the Dust containers, acting as if she were simply trying to escape. She glared at Cinder who moved in front of her to prevent her from getting away, and saw Neo helping Roman hobble out of the area. Seemed like they did hear what was going on after all, and decided to save themselves rather than fight. Smart.

"Seems like you're useful after all, Noodle Arms." Cinder chuckled to herself.

"Don't call me that!" Jaune hissed as he aimed the gun at her.

"What do you think you're doing?" Cinder's eyes hardened. "That _monster_ there is stealing your girl. You should be more focused on _it_."

Jaune turned towards Weiss and aimed the gun at her again, clearly in a mad haze. "Give me my woman back."

"Ruby said she would never be yours, idiot." Weiss growled and looked down at Ruby. She looked pale and needed help soon. Gritting her fangs, she muttered an apology as she licked Ruby's face. Her ear twitched at hearing Jaune's jealous cry, and jumped behind Cinder as he shot in a reckless rage.

Cinder gasped in pain as she stumbled back onto the Dust containers and saw that they ignited as the bullet went through her.

Soon, the entire area was filled with flames as Weiss stumbled to get as far away as she could, holding Ruby close to her chest so she wouldn't hear Cinder and Jaune's painful cries as the flames engulfed them.

Not a minute later, Weiss collapsed onto the floor. She held onto Ruby protectively and covered her as much as she could with her body, as Ruby did her best to cover Weiss with her cloak with the last of her strength. Both too weak from their injuries, they fell to the ground as the fire quickly overtook them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N:And that's the end of this chapter. Cliffhanger again. I know. Editor said it was better this way though. Hoped that y'all enjoyed, except for that Jaune part and fighting scenes. See y'all next time!


	9. Much Needed Rest

Ruby groaned as she opened her eyes, quickly closing them as a bright light assaulted her. "Ngh… W-Where…?" She questioned as she slowly opened her eyes and sat up. "Weiss…? Moonlight…?"

"To think that's the first thing you call when you wake up." A voice stated.

"W-Who?!" Ruby reached into her pocket for her weapon, only to feel that it wasn't there.

"Easy, Ruby!" Summer pushed her daughter back down onto the bed with a frown.

"M-Mum…?" Ruby blinked then looked at herself, seeing that she almost ripped off some wires connected to her from getting up so quickly. "W-What happened…?"

"Drink some water first." Summer held a cup of water for Ruby, carefully holding it over her body and helping her sit up without ripping anything off.

Ruby slowly sipped the water, realizing just now how parched her throat was, and sighed gratefully. "We're… in the hospital?" The brunette looked at her surroundings. She started to panic when she didn't see her wolf anywhere. "Weiss. Where's Weiss?"

"Unfortunately, she's in a different room." Summer sighed. "It was hard to convince the paramedics to bring Weiss here. It was even harder to separate you two." She chuckled weakly. "You both refused to let go of one another."

"I need to go to her." Ruby winced as she moved to get off the bed and was pushed back onto the bed. "Mum!"

"She'll be fine. She's…" Summer frowned as she thought of her next words. "She's not awake yet."

"Not awake? What do you mean? How long were we out?" Ruby frowned, wanting to find where her wolf was. "Mum, what happened…?"

"What do you remember?" Summer placed a hand onto her daughter's hand, knowing that she would be annoyed by this roundabout way of answering her question. "If you tell me that, then I'll know how much you know already. There's no need to tell you what you already know, right?"

Ruby groaned as she rubbed her head. "I guess you're right." She sighed as she thought of the last thing she remembered. "I… went to Weiss' home… and talked to her grandfather, Nicholas. He… was part of the SDC. We found clues that the SDC might've been working with the White Fang."

Summer was quiet as she took Ruby's hand, rubbing the back of it with her thumb.

"Uhm… He was telling me how it was only Jacques that had a connection with the White Fang. Then…" Ruby clenched the bed sheets. "The White Fang attacked while I was talking to Nicholas." Her eyes widened as she looked at her mother. "Are they ok? Nicholas and Klein? They're fine? Right?"

"Why don't you see for yourself?" Summer got up and left the room for a moment. Once she came back, Nicholas limped in on a crutch with Klein in tow, whose head was wrapped in bandages, helping him.

"It's good to see you again, Ruby." Nicholas smiled then frowned. "I apologize for getting you involved…"

"What? No! I got you and Klein involved." Ruby shook her head. "They needed a way to find you, and I was stupid enough to lead them to you. I'm sorry that I got you, Klein, and Weiss hurt." She gripped the bed sheets tight, trying to stop her tears from falling.

Nicholas looked at Summer and moved close towards Ruby's bed, patting her head with his free hand. "Ruby, it's fine. We'll be fine. Weiss needs time to recover. She did bleed out a lot, after all. Actually… I need to talk to you about that."

"Weiss was bleeding a lot?" Ruby whimpered, remembering how much blood there was. Nicholas and Summer kept saying that she was fine, but she couldn't help but worry about her wolf. Wait, what did Nicholas mean? Was something wrong? "Sorry... What did you need to talk about?"

"Apparently, while they were doing surgery on you, we found out that some of her blood had actually mixed with yours, likely through your wounds." Klein explained. "How are you feeling?"

Ruby looked at herself. "Besides a bit sore, I feel fine, actually."

"Fine enough that you tried to knife me." Summer added with a chuckle and placed a hand onto Ruby's to reassure her that it's alright. "But nothing else?"

"I'm just really sore." Ruby shrugged. "Am I supposed to feel anything?"

"No, I'm just determining if you've turned or not." Nicholas shook his head. "Luckily, it seems that you have not." He looked between Summer and Ruby before continuing. "Turned as in turning into a Werewolf, I mean. I know that you can't turn from simply bathing in a Werewolf's blood, but I wanted to be absolutely sure. Especially if it might have entered her bloodstream. Though you didn't turn, you may have…. enhanced abilities. Such as endurance, strength, sight, etcetera."

"Oh, so… I'm just physically stronger than normal? That doesn't seem too bad." Ruby sighed, but her eyes quickly widened, her face in a clearly panicked state. "Can I still eat chocolate?!"

"I, err… I-I don't… know?" Nicholas honestly didn't know. "You haven't been turned, so chocolate shouldn't affect you as it does for us. It also depends on the Werewolf, I suppose."

"Nicholas has never particularly cared for chocolate, and the same could be said about Weiss." Klein thought about the Werewolves' eating habits.

"Mum! Chocolate! Please! We're in the hospital anyways, I need to test this!" Ruby begged.

"I thought you were worried about Weiss?" Summer raised a brow and saw the crestfallen look on her daughter's face. "If the doctors say that you can walk around, we'll bring you to Weiss."

Ruby perked up at that, then remembered that she was in the middle of her explanation. "Oh right, I was explaining what happened after, wasn't I?" She looked at Nicholas and Klein, glad that they were alright

"I'll go back and check if Weiss is awake or not." Klein helped Nicholas into a chair, bowed to everyone, then left the room.

"So after you four were attacked…" Summer looked at Nicholas then back at Ruby. "You were taken by the White Fang?"

"Yeah…" Ruby nodded. "One Werefox attacked me from behind. He said something about me being Weiss' weakness or something like that. Then Weiss slashed at him and he fell. We thought that she killed him, and she was making sure that I was alright until another person came from behind and used a taser or something. I don't know what they used, but I remember Weiss falling forward, I caught her and there was this electric shock."

Summer frowned when she heard that, as Nicholas gave an apologetic look. "It seems that they were mostly after Weiss. They knocked me out next to Klein. As soon as I woke up, Summer here was asking for answers."

"Demanded, actually." Summer coughed as she admitted that. "We came to a negotiation. He helped us find you and the White Fang, and we put an end to them. Though by the time we found you, you took out most of the White Fang's more prominent members. Yang and Blake are cornering Adam as we speak."

Ruby sighed in relief, then looked at her mother, who gave her a look of wanting to know what happened. "There was… four of them. Cinder, Roman, Neo, and…. Jaune."

"Jaune as in… that co-worker that you were complaining about that never left you alone?" Summer raised a brow, then frowned when Ruby nodded.

"That same one. It surprised me too, seeing a co-worker working with the White Fang." Ruby shuddered as she remembered what he did. "They… tied me up. Wanted me to watch them beat up Weiss, and wanted to use me to control her. Or something like that. I was too angry that they were hurting her. I used what you taught me to get out of the zip-ties they tied me with." She looked at her bandaged wrists.

"That wasn't the worst of the wounds…" Summer frowned.

Ruby nodded and continued her story. "I went to fight Jaune 'cause Weiss bit off Roman's leg. Neo was busy taking care of him while Cinder went to fight Weiss. Jaune… threw this vial at me, it made me slower and weaker than usual. Weiss then came and saved me." She decided to leave out a lot of that part, and was thankful that she had Weiss to take care of her. "He drank something before that, and he… went crazy. He tried to shoot Weiss, I got in the way." The brunette placed a hand onto her shoulder where she was shot then continued. "He kept blaming Weiss, and I asked her to try to make him shoot the Dust barrels. Next thing I knew, everything was on fire and Weiss was covering me. I tried to cover her with my cape and… now I'm here."

"Well that's consistent from what we know." Summer nodded. "While you and Weiss were getting treated..." She looked at Nicholas. "He explained everything that he knew. We also used your scroll to listen to what you recorded with him. All that's left is Weiss' testimony, then you both can relax."

"Right…" Ruby squirmed. "So… can I go see her?"

"In a moment, but there's something that I'd like to talk to you about, Ruby." Summer stated and saw the fear in Ruby's eyes that reminded her of a child about to be scolded by her mother. "What happened with the White Fang, I'm happy that you're safe and alive. Yes, what you did was reckless, going off on your own and then getting kidnapped, but Ruby..."

She took her daughter's hand lovingly to reassure her that she wasn't scolding her. The older woman wanted to let Ruby know that she was proud of her. "It was _your_ way of doing things. Don't compare what you've done with what I would've done. We're both different people. I know that the world expects you to be like me, but I don't. Live your own life, Ruby. Don't follow in my footsteps. Do what _you_ want. I'll love you no matter what you decide."

Ruby shook and pulled Summer close to hug her, crying onto her shoulder. She was so glad that her mother loved her for being her, even if the world didn't. "Thanks, Mum." She didn't realize how much she needed to hear this.

"Any time." Summer rubbed her back. "I'm sorry for not saying it enough, but you know that I'm proud of you… right?"

"I know. I just… after something like this, I think I really needed to hear it." Ruby sighed as she wiped her tears. "So uhm… c-can I see Weiss now?"

Summer chuckled as she got up. "Stay here and be a good girl. I'll check with the doctors and get a wheelchair."

Ruby nodded and looked at Nicholas, squirming a bit. "I'm sorry again… I didn't think the White Fang wanted to use me to find you."

"It's fine, Ruby. You didn't know." Nicholas shook his head. "I don't blame you at all, so please. Don't blame yourself. Your mother just said so as well."

"I know, but I'm still sorry." Ruby sighed.

"Ruby…" Nicholas hesitated for a moment, then looked up at Ruby. "Do you like Weiss?"

"Of course I like her. She's been there for me for a long time." Ruby blinked, unsure of what he was asking. "Why do you ask that?"

Nicholas gave a small chuckle. Remembering how Weiss looked at Ruby. It reminded him of how he was when he met his mate. "I mean, would you like to be her mate?"

Ruby blushed. "W-Wha?!" She thought about it. Did she like Weiss in that way? How does being mates even work between Werewolves and humans?! "Y-You think that… I can be her mate…? C-Can I even be her mate?"

"If you love her, then I have no objections." Nicholas chuckled. "I know that she loves you. In fact… I think that you saved her, actually."

"What?" Ruby questioned, tilting her head. She was always being saved by her wolf, what did he mean that she saved her? "How… did I save her?"

"You saved her from herself. She saw herself as nothing but a monster for the longest time. Then she met you." Nicholas started to explain with a frown. "I know that this is selfish of me, and I have no right to tell you this after asking you if you would like to be her mate, but would you still love her after everything that happened?"

"What… do you mean? You mean after her father tried to kill her and Winter?" Ruby raised a brow. Why was he telling her this now?

"What I mean is, would you still love Weiss, even if…" Nicholas sighed as he looked into Ruby's eyes. "She's the one that murdered her family?"

Ruby blinked. "What…?" Weiss did that? Really? "N-No way… she couldn't… but how…? I mean… what?" There were so many questions. "Wait, so that report of Jacques murdering her and Winter… was fake? I mean, I know that it is, because Weiss is still here and alive. What about Winter? What… really happened?"

"Unfortunately, Weiss was the one that killed them." Nicholas apologized. "And it was my fault."

"H-How was that your fault?" Ruby sat up, wanting to know more. The reports were a lie, she knew that, and now that she thought about it, Nicholas was in the middle of explaining that part to her before the White Fang attacked, wasn't he? "Did… you have something to do with all of this?"

"Because of my neglect, Jacques destroyed the SDC name and abused my granddaughters. I wasn't there enough for them when they needed me. I'm a failure of a grandfather." Nicholas sighed.

"Nicholas, what happened?" Ruby wanted to know everything.

"That night, when I came back, Weiss was on the verge of death on the floor. She…" Nicholas covered his face with his hands. "She was beaten by _that man_ again, covered in Dust. Weiss... she was apologizing to me, in a weak voice. ' _I'm… sorry… for being…. born… and causing… so much… trouble…'"_ The old man sighed deeply. "Sometimes I wonder if turning her instead of letting her die was the right thing."

"T-Turning her…?" Ruby questioned. "So she… never was a Were before?"

Nicholas gave a weak chuckle. "You would think that, with how much time she spends in her wolf form, but no. She was born a human. Both her parents were human. She's not related to me by blood."

Ruby stared at Nicholas, absorbing all of this new information. "So… Willow… isn't your real daughter?"

"I adopted her… because she reminded me of my pup between myself and my mate. Unfortunately, they both passed away several years before. I took care of Willow as if she were my real daughter. She didn't know that I was a Werewolf." Nicholas smiled at the memory of his daughter, but frowned and looked away. "Unfortunately, Willow was a weak woman. She gave birth to Winter just fine, but when Weiss came… things were complicated."

Ruby bit her lip. "Complicated, as in…?" She urged, wanting to know more.

"Willow grew extremely ill. Ill enough that when she was pregnant, she was too weak to eat." Nicholas sighed as he moved towards the couch and sat down. "When she was about to give birth to their third child… she died. The child did not make it either."

Ruby covered her mouth in shock. She was empathetic with Jacques. If something happened to her lover and child, she'd break too. But still… "Even if Willow and the child died… what Jacques did was wrong."

"Yes. It was." Nicholas gritted his teeth. "How _that man_ easily threw her away, his _family_? Using his _daughter_ as if she were an _experiment_." The old man growled as he thought about it, but calmed down when he felt Ruby's hand on his shoulder. "I… apologize."

"Please. Don't be sorry." Ruby shook her head. "I would be mad as well if my father or someone I knew would do something like that." She clenched her fist. "Thank you, for saving her."

"I merely prolonged her life. _You_ were the one that saved her, Ruby. Thank you again." Nicholas bowed his head, then turned when the door opened.

"I'm sorry that took so long. The doctors were busy, and I need their ok before I can take you to see Weiss." Summer apologized as she walked in.

Ruby groaned as she fell back onto the bed. "When is he coming in to check? If Weiss wakes up and I'm not there, she might freak out."

"You're right about that. You two have spent so much time together. Especially after what happened, she might try to break free from her room to try to track Ruby down, wounded or not." Nicholas thought about it, then realized what he just said upon seeing Ruby's horrified look. "S-She should be fine."

"Ms. Rose?" The doctor knocked as he walked in with a wheelchair. "My name is Dr. Azure. Your mother has informed me that you were awake, and have insisted that we bring you to see the wolf." He wheeled the wheelchair next to the bed, then moved to check her vitals. "I know that this is against protocol, but seeing that you are indeed doing alright, I believe that it should be ok for me to ask you questions on the way to see the wolf."

"Really?" Ruby was thankful for that and got into the wheelchair with the doctor and her mother's help. "Thank you!"

"Of course." The doctor noted. "Now, I'm pretty sure that your mother and Nicholas have asked you this already, but how are you feeling?" He asked as they wheeled Ruby out of the room and down the hall into the elevator.

"Really sore and worried for Weiss." Ruby squirmed in her seat, resisting the urge to just get up and run. However, she couldn't do that in the elevator.

"Understandable." Dr. Azure chuckled. "What is the last thing you remember?"

"Uhm… I was with my wolf, taking down the White Fang. We exploded the place and, well… she's ok, right?" Ruby looked up at the doctor, wanting to hurry up and meet her wolf. Wait, what form was Weiss in now? Considering how they kept saying wolf, she's probably been in her wolf form, not her Werewolf form.

Dr. Azure hesitated for a while before answering. "When she first came in, she was burnt and had lost a lot of blood. We did as much as we could to help." He then looked at Nicholas. "Then Nicholas here recommended that we bring in a doctor from Atlas. Weiss seems to be doing better now."

"Seems…?" Ruby didn't like the sound of it. Once the elevator opened, they wheeled her down the hall again, and she saw that there were many Werecreatures recovering in beds as well. "This place…"

"This place is where we take care of Werecreatures. Werewolves, Werecats, Werebunnies. You name it." Dr. Azure added. "Though we rarely get any Werepatients, and only a few doctors even know about this place."

"Dr. Polendina was my doctor when I was in Atlas. I haven't been in contact with him again until now." Nicholas admitted. "But he's the best, and a doctor that I can trust. Weiss is in good hands if he's taking care of her."

"I hope you're right, and thank you." Ruby sighed and was wheeled up to a window where she could see a wolf laying on her left side, covered in bandages, a few wires hooked up to her, and a mask on her face to help her breathe. "Oh god… Weiss…?"

The wolf's ear and paw twitched. The doctor inside, who Ruby assumed was Dr. Polendina, was surprised for a moment, then looked at the window. He smiled and wheeled towards the door. "Are you Ruby Rose?"

"Y-Yes. I am. Weiss. She's…?" Ruby looked at the wolf, her beautiful eyes finally opening. "Weiss…"

Dr. Polendina allowed her to be wheeled in. He watched how happy Ruby was seeing Weiss, as she gently ran her hands through the wolf's fur. "She's fine now that she's woken up. She should be able to walk tomorrow. I'd recommend that she spends the rest of the day resting." Weiss huffed into the mask. "Maybe tonight, she can walk. But I _still_ recommend that she spends the day resting."

"Weiss, rest. Please." Ruby begged as she continued to run her hand through her fur. "I'm ok now. If I can, I won't leave either."

"I believe that can be arranged, actually." Dr. Polendina looked at Dr. Azure for approval.

"Considering that this is a special case, I'll allow it." Dr. Azure nodded. "Ms. Rose doesn't have any significant injuries aside from her shoulder, and should hopefully be fine with a good night's rest. If you need any assistance, call me."

"Of course. Thank you." Dr. Polendina nodded, then looked at Nicholas and Summer. "These two should still get some rest. It's very good to see you again, O'Nick. The last time we saw each other was when I was stabilizing Weiss after you turned her."

"I'm sorry for hiding all this time, Pietro. After what happened, I thought that it would be best to leave Atlas." Nicholas apologized.

"No, it's understandable." Pietro chuckled. "Though you're lucky that I was in Vale already." He then frowned. "I managed to get all the wolfsbane out of her system. The silver surprisingly missed her vitals, and her back's been burnt. This would've been easier to treat if she was in her Were or human form."

Weiss huffed at Pietro, relaxing when Ruby scratched her head. "Weiss. Please." Ruby shook her head. "Relax and rest. As you can see, I'm fine and here. Think about yourself for once. Please." The wolf looked at Ruby and huffed again, closing her eyes. "There you go. Good girl." Ruby smiled, then blushed at seeing how everyone was looking at her.

"I'll see if we can get you an extra bed so you don't aggravate each other's wounds." Pietro chuckled as he wheeled out of the room.

"I'll go help him." Nicholas smiled as he left.

"Seeing as those two are practically crippled, _I_ should be the one moving the bed in here. Or at least getting a doctor to help." Summer chuckled. "I would like you to formally introduce me when you're both better."

"Mum!" Ruby blushed. "I-I will… next time."

"Good. Now we'll be back soon." Summer waved them off, leaving the duo alone.

Ruby sighed, then watched Weiss as she slept. "Weiss…. Nicholas said that I saved you, but you're always saving me. When you're awake… I would like to ask something." She rested her head onto the bed, idly rubbing Weiss' fur. ' _Would you like to be my mate?'_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Well hoped that y'all enjoyed the chap. Have a bit of family history and set up for fluff for the next chap. See y'all next time~


	10. Welcome

Ruby hummed as she laid in bed besides Weiss and ran a hand through her fur. It's been a few days since she was able to share the room with the Werewolf, and she was glad that she could watch Weiss getting better each day. "Weiss… You'll be better soon." Weiss' ear twitched as she opened her eyes. "Ah, no. Go back to sleep. You still need rest."

Weiss whined as she raised a paw over Ruby's hand.

"Yes yes, you're my sweet guardian angel that only thinks about me and my safety and happiness." Ruby giggled as she kissed her head. "I'm not going anywhere. Well, except for the bathroom and if the doctors need to test me. I doubt that you can follow me in there."

Weiss merely whined again.

"What's wrong, my big, bad wolfy?" Ruby cooed as she scratched her head. "You can't always be there with me."

"Never thought that you'd baby talk Weiss like you do with Zwei." Summer giggled as she knocked at the door. Weiss rolled over onto her stomach, looking at Summer. "Oh, I'm sorry. You didn't have to get up like that."

"She's feeling a bit better and doesn't need the mask to breathe anymore." Ruby sat up and ran her hands lightly over the bandages on Weiss. "We haven't changed the bandages yet, so I don't know if she needs them still or not."

"Why don't you change them then?" Summer chuckled as she got some extra bandages and medicine, setting them aside for her daughter.

"Right." Ruby looked at Weiss. "Should we give you a bath too?" She moved off the bed, turning back when her wolf whined and crawled on her belly towards her. "Aww, c'mere you big puppy. What's wrong? You're really enjoying laying on me or something?" Weiss whined more. "Ok ok, no more teasing. Let's get your wounds cleaned up."

"Do you need help, or you got this?" Summer chuckled.

"I think I got this, mum. Thanks for the offer though." Ruby scratched Weiss' head and was about to take her bandages off but stopped. "Uhm, mum? Can you go get some warm water and towels? I don't know if Weiss appreciates the company too much." She glanced at her wolf who just licked her hand.

"Want me to grab you some food while I'm out?" Summer gave her an understanding smile.

"Sure. Can you check in with Yang and Blake too? I'm worried about them…" Ruby helped Weiss sit up. "They're fine… Right?"

"They'll be fine." Summer reassured, but she didn't know for sure. The White Fang were dangerous, after all. If Ruby and Weiss almost lost their lives taking out a significant amount of them, who knows how strong their leader is? Technically Blake knew the leader, but she stated that it was a long time since they last saw each other, so it probably wouldn't be an accurate scale. Shaking her head out of those thoughts, she smiled and looked at her daughter and possible future daughter-in-law. "I'll be back in a bit. Don't overexert yourselves now."

"Alright. See you, mum!" Ruby waved, then slowly unwrapped the bandages around Weiss's body. She stopped when she saw a bald spot, showing up where the wolf was speared. The brunette's hands shook as she stared at the wounds and bit her lip.

Weiss sensed her distress and whined, licking her cheek.

"No… I'm _not_ fine!" Ruby cried as she looked at Weiss, wrapping an arm around her neck. "You were hurt. Because of me." She shook as she held Weiss closer. "You may be a Werewolf with awesome healing powers, but I still don't like the fact that you were hurt!"

Weiss licked her neck, whimpering an apology.

Ruby sniffed as she continued holding Weiss, feeling better knowing that she was alright now, and continued slowly taking off all the bandages. Aside from the dark red spot on her white wolf, as far as Ruby could see, there weren't any more wounds. The brunette ran her fingers through Weiss' fur slowly and placed her forehead against the wolf's. "Weiss…"

Weiss licked Ruby's cheek to show that she was listening. She was worried about what was going on within Ruby's mind, and wrapped a paw around her to hold the brunette close.

"Weiss, can… can you turn back into a human? Or Werewolf? It'll be easier to treat your wounds." Ruby hesitantly asked. "It's just me. I promise that I won't hurt you." She didn't know why Weiss was so scared of showing her other forms, but all that the brunette knew was that she'd love her wolf no matter what form she takes.

Weiss hesitated, unsure if she could show Ruby. She trusted Ruby, that was a fact. But there was also this voice in the back of her head calling her a monster. What if Ruby thought the same? Just when the wolf thought that she found someone that she could trust, she didn't know if she could handle it if Ruby thought of her as a monster.

Silence filled the room as Weiss pondered if she should turn back into a human or Werewolf. Ruby said that it was hard for her to take care of her wounds as a wolf, so maybe human? There was less to worry about as a human than in her Werewolf form, after all…

"Weiss…" Ruby whispered, nuzzling against her wolf. Did she have the right to call her that? She just realized how often she thought of Weiss as _her_ wolf. The brunette pulled back a bit and saw the hesitation in Weiss' eyes. Was she still scared of showing Ruby her human and Werewolf forms? Not wanting her soon-to-be-mate-if-she-gathered-the-courage-and-asked to be scared anymore, Ruby kissed her snout. "I'm not scared of you. You're not a monster to me. You're my best friend, my guardian angel. And I… I love you." She blushed as she admitted that. "I uhm… I don't know what you see in a clumsy, second-rate detective like me, but you're always saving me. I can't thank you enough. I uhm.. you… me…That is…" Ruby wrapped her arms around Weiss once more before looking into the wolf's eyes, worried about being rejected. "W-Would you like to be my mate?"

Weiss stared at Ruby in shock. Was she serious?

"I uh… I don't know how you'd ask for this kinda thing, but I… I can't really thank you enough and… I-I really do love you, Weiss." Ruby blushed.

Weiss whimpered and licked Ruby's neck, almost asking if it really was the truth.

"It's not a trick or a lie." Ruby kissed her head, trying to quell her fears. "Weiss, you've been by my side for a long time. Like I said, you're my best friend… my guardian angel who I love and trust. I-I would like to be more… i-if you would like to." Ruby pulled back and offered her hand.

Weiss stared at her hand, debating on it. Ruby was right. They had been together for a long time now, and not once had Ruby lied to her. Slowly, the wolf lifted her paw. Both of them watching as it slowly turned into a human hand. Ruby took her hand and pulled her close, holding onto her as the wolf turned into a human. "Hey, Weiss. I'm so glad that we can finally talk to each other."

"R-Ru…by…" Weiss gasped. Her voice was raspy, unused to speaking in her human form, from years of only being used to growling or barking. "Ru…by…" She held onto Ruby closely, tears falling as she nuzzled against her shoulder.

"I'm here, Weiss. I'm here." Ruby held onto Weiss closely, running a hand through the other woman's silver hair.

The brunette noted how long it was. Compared to her wolf form's fur, she noticed that Weiss' human form's hair reached her mid back, and it was silky smooth. She couldn't help but keep running her fingers through it. Wait, now's not the time to be distracted. She asked Weiss to turn into a human so that she could treat her wounds. She could appreciate her new form later.

"Alright, uhm… c-can you sit back for a bit? Until I can wrap these bandages around your stomach." Ruby blushed. Weiss still held onto Ruby, keeping her within her arms. Ruby noted how _strong_ Weiss' arms felt when she was held. It felt really nice. Wait! She was getting distracted again! "W-Weiss, please. I wanna treat your wound. W-We can cuddle after I'm done treating you." Ruby blushed harder as she felt Weiss loosening her grip.

Weiss gave Ruby puppy dog eyes as she reluctantly moved away.

Ruby's heart melted at the sight and she kissed her cheek. "It's only for a few minutes. I'll try to be quick, ok?" The brunette moved away to grab the fresh bandages and medicine Summer left her earlier. She thought about it for a moment, then grabbed a cup of water as well.

Weiss shifted and flexed her fingers, trying to relearn how to use them while she waited. "Ruby…?" Weiss looked up at the brunette, who helped her drink the cup of water before starting to apply the medicine to her side. She yelped at how cold the medicine was and whined as she moved away.

"Did that hurt?! Weiss, I'm so sorry!" Ruby panicked.

"N-No…" Weiss shook her head. "Cold…"

"O-Oh… right…" Ruby sighed in relief. "I'll try to be quick, but can you endure it? I mean, I know that you usually have fur to keep you warm and all, and humans don't really have that luxury." She chuckled nervously. "J-Just hold still for a few minutes."

"Ok." Weiss nodded, closing her eyes as she felt Ruby rubbing the medicine on both sides, then wrapping the bandages around her stomach. She slowly reopened her eyes, seeing Ruby smiling that beautiful smile of hers, and kissed her cheek. "Done?"

"Yeah, it's all done." Ruby nodded and got off the bed. Before she got too far, she turned towards Weiss, who was about to get off the bed to follow her. "Stay. I'm just looking for a patient's gown or whatever they call it for you to wear until we get you some clothes." The brunette moved back to kiss her head. "You can watch me from the bed. Nothing will hurt me. I promise."

Weiss whined and nodded, staying on the bed as she watched Ruby go through the cabinets to find a gown. Once she did, the brunette helped Weiss put it on before lying onto the bed. "Alright. Cuddle time. I promised you that after treating you, remember?" Weiss nodded and lay next to Ruby stiffly for a moment before the brunette pulled her close to her chest.

"Is it weird? Being human again, I mean?" Ruby frowned, rubbing Weiss' back and running a hand through her hair. "What am I saying? Of course it is. Sorry, Weiss. I never meant to make you uncomfortable."

"No." Weiss shook her head and clutched onto Ruby's gown. "It's fine. You like this… right?"

"I like that we can talk together without you just staring at me." Ruby teased and moved close enough that their noses were touching. "But one step at a time. Whatever makes you comfortable." The brunette smiled.

Weiss nodded and cuddled close to Ruby. "Alright." She was about to lick Ruby's cheek but then remembered how Ruby would kiss her, so she kissed Ruby on the lips before closing her eyes. The wolf-now-turned-human didn't see how red Ruby's face was after being kissed on the lips.

' _She kissed me. Weiss just kissed me!'_ Ruby blushed, extremely happy that Weiss kissed her like that. The brunette smiled and gently brushed the bangs out of her eyes. "I love you, Weiss." Ruby whispered, cuddling close to her mate.

* * *

Ruby yawned as she woke up from her nap and looked up to see Weiss curled around her. "I guess you're still a wolf at heart." She giggled and cuddled closer to her. The brunette looked up and saw that Weiss had her wolf ears and tail out. "Didn't feel comfortable without them?" She asked quietly.

"No…" Weiss opened her eyes, ears twitching as she held onto Ruby.

"Did I wake you? I'm sorry." Ruby apologized and nuzzled against Weiss, moving so that she was sitting up. Weiss curled up next to Ruby and rested her head onto her lap. "Are you hungry?"

"I just want to be with you." Weiss hummed as she looked up at Ruby, who blushed. "Ruby…? Your face… It's red. Are you sick?"

Ruby shook her head. "You're just so sweet to me." She leaned down and kissed Weiss on the forehead, scratching her ears lightly. "What did I do to deserve you?"

"For being you." Weiss leaned against Ruby's touch and reached up to hold her free hand. She saw how Ruby gave her a questioning look and rolled over to sit up, looking into her mate's eyes. "I… don't like being called a monster." Her ears folded as she looked away. "I think… you were the first one besides Nicholas and Klein that didn't think so. I don't know why. Just being called a monster, my head hurts, and I feel this pain in my chest."

Ruby frowned and pulled Weiss close, rubbing her ears. Nicholas did tell her before that Weiss probably didn't remember being turned into a Werewolf. What hardships did she overcome before with Jacques? After being turned into a Werewolf?

"I'm sorry that you had to go through that, Weiss…" Ruby kissed her head. "You're not a monster to me. You never have been. You've always been there for me."

Weiss nuzzled against Ruby, thankful for her, then growled as she turned towards the door.

"Uhm… Good afternoon, Ruby. Is it safe to assume that's Weiss?" Pietro asked as he wheeled into the room.

"Hi, Dr. Polendina. Yes, this is Weiss. I think she's feeling much better." Ruby held her close and rubbed her ears. "Weiss, this is Dr. Polendina. He's the one that took care of you until you woke up." Weiss hummed and nuzzled more against Ruby. "I uh… if you need her to answer any questions…"

"I would like to ask what the last thing that she remembered before coming here is, and how she's feeling now." Pietro fixed his glasses. "But considering how she's acting around you, I think that it's safe to say that she's feeling great, hopefully with little to no pain."

Ruby giggled. "You got that right. Give me a sec." She rubbed Weiss' head. "Weiss? Dr. Polendina wants to know what the last thing you remember is, before you woke up."

"Mm… pain. A lot of pain, and scared of losing you…" Weiss held onto Ruby, shaking as she remembered what happened between herself, Ruby, and the White Fang.

"That's enough. I'm sorry to make you remember that." Dr. Polendina apologized and offered his hand to the two young women. "I would like to do a quick check up. Considering how Weiss is a Werewolf, and you have some of her blood running through you, you two should be able to go home tonight or in the morning."

"Ruby has my blood running through her?" Weiss looked at Ruby worriedly.

"I do, but I haven't turned. It's ok." Ruby kissed Weiss' head and moved so that Pietro could do his check up on her. Weiss watched carefully, then tried to stay still when she was being checked on.

"You two have healed much quicker than I anticipated. Either Weiss' Werewolf blood has greater healing abilities than I thought, or you two being together made the process much quicker. Ah, young love." Pietro chuckled as he moved away. "I believe that your parents would like to speak with you two for a bit before signing your discharge papers."

"Speak?" Ruby raised a brow, then remembered what her mother wanted before.

"Ruby?" Weiss tilted her head.

"Oh, uhm… it's… important. Kinda." Ruby chuckled and looked up to see Nicholas and Summer walking in as Pietro left. "So uhm… I guess it's time? Even though I know both of your answers?"

Summer chuckled. "I still would like to be formally introduced." She moved close to Weiss, holding her hand out. "Hello, Weiss. My name's Summer. I'm Ruby's mother."

Weiss looked at Summer for a moment, then looked at Ruby as if she were asking what she should do. The brunette gave her a smile and rubbed her head. "It's ok." She whispered. Weiss blinked, then looked back at Summer, then at her hand. She gave it a quick sniff before taking her hand.

Summer blinked at Weiss' reaction before taking her hand and giving it a quick shake, then letting go. She glanced at Nicholas who chuckled, assuming it was because she's a wolf and tended to sniff things before pawing at them. She then looked at Ruby with a smile, seeing Weiss immediately cuddling up to her side.

Ruby giggled at Weiss' interaction with her mother and feeling the wolf-now-turned-human's hair tickling her cheek. She smiled at both Summer and Nicholas, knowing what they'd say. "Weiss is my mate now, and I'm hers. I know that you both approve, but I wanted to make it official now.."

Nicholas and Summer looked at each other with a smile before looking at the two young women before them. "Welcome to the family, Ruby/Weiss."

* * *

Ruby woke up the next morning, feeling slightly cold. And was that the sound of shuffling and whines? She groaned and rubbed her eyes. It was seven in the morning, and they were released from the hospital the night before. She remembered cuddling next to Weiss as they went to bed and—Weiss! Where was she?

Ruby quickly sat up and saw that Weiss wasn't in bed with her. She then turned to find an adorable sight.

Weiss was on the floor, her head was stuck in an arm sleeve, and she was struggling to get it through. The brunette wondered how she even got her loose pants on correctly. Unable to watch her little Werewolf suffer anymore, Ruby got off the bed. "Weiss?"

The Werewolf stopped moving and turned her head towards Ruby's voice. "Ru…by…?"

"Yeah, it's me. Hold on." Ruby giggled and knelt down onto her knees. She gently placed her hands on Weiss' shoulders to help her up, and gently moved the shirt so she wouldn't tug on Weiss' hair as she helped her find the correct hole to go through. "There you are." The brunette smiled as she kissed her nose and helped Weiss put her arms through the sleeves as well. "Why didn't you wake me? Are you ok? You're not hurt, are you?"

"You were too cute… and looked peaceful as you slept…" Weiss looked away guiltily. "Sorry…" Her ears twitched a bit. "Not hurt. I wanted to make you breakfast…"

Ruby's heart fluttered when Weiss spoke, and she couldn't help but pull the werewolf into a hug. "Want to make breakfast together?"

Weiss nodded with a smile, getting up with Ruby. She gave Ruby a kiss on the lips and nuzzled against her head, pulling back with a smile. Ruby blushed at the gesture and smiled as well. Today was the first day of a new routine. One she hoped that would continue starting and ending with kisses, and Ruby didn't mind it one bit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: And hoped that you enjoyed this fluff chapter (sadly not literally). Though the story seems done, got another chapter before the epilogue coming up~ See y'all next time!

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: Hai, it's me with a new story. I'm not dead. Trying out a new idea. Hope that y'all enjoy! Please read and review. See y'all next time.


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